


All The Devils Are Here

by EllanaSan



Series: Katniss, The Vampire Slayer [10]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire Slayer, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Slayer!Katniss, Vampire Slayer(s), Witch!Effie, watcher!haymitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:08:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 37,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26440036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllanaSan/pseuds/EllanaSan
Summary: Katniss was a little disoriented. Everything in the living-room was identical to when they had left, down to the dead woman on the couch. Prim was standing in the same spot, Gale still had a hand on Rory’s shoulder… It was a bit surreal. As if time had frozen on this side.
Relationships: Haymitch Abernathy/Effie Trinket, Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Series: Katniss, The Vampire Slayer [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1134281
Comments: 303
Kudos: 162





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We're baaaaack! There should be 13 chapters in this one (unless I decide to cut one or two for practical reasons). I hope you like this episode! As usual please let me know!

The portal snapped shut right after Katniss, so close that she felt the _zap_ of it on her back.

“You took your time.” Cinna remarked, lowering his hands, a little out of breath and bending in two to recover.

Katniss was a little disoriented. Everything in the living-room was identical to when they had left, down to the dead woman on the couch. Prim was standing in the same spot, Gale still had a hand on Rory’s shoulder… It was a bit surreal. As if time had frozen on this side.

“She needs help.” Haymitch retorted, ignoring the warlock’s gibe. The Watcher’s eyes roamed around the room, briefly paused on the already occupied couch, and then he kicked the coffee table out of the way and laid Effie down directly on the rug. “She’s badly hurt.”

Cinna, to his credit, immediately lowered himself to the floor – but he did so by gripping the armrest of the couch and his face looked pinched, like Effie’s did when she had done too much magic. Prim was at their side in seconds, her attention switching between Effie and Haymitch as if she wasn’t sure which one she was more worried for.

“Peeta needs help too.” she reminded them all because the boy was heavy and she wasn’t sure how long he would stay asleep.

Haymitch dismissed that with a wave of his hand before placing it down right on Effie’s chest, trying to feel her breathing. “He can wait.”

“But…” she argued with a growl.

“His life isn’t on the line, he can _wait,_ Katniss.” Haymitch snapped, raising his voice. “ _She_ can’t.” He glanced up at her and his face softened a little when his eyes fell on Peeta but not a lot and not long, he turned his head to look at Gale who was keeping Rory to the side so they wouldn’t be in the way. “Boy, you think you can carry Peeta to the bedroom?” The question seemed odd until Katniss remembered Gale hurt his ribs. “There are chains in the basement, Katniss. In the smaller cupboard. Go get them and tie him up until we can sort him out.”

She grew cold. “We’re _not_ putting him in chains.”

“Do what I _fucking_ say.” Haymitch growled. “He’s gonna be _fine_. Effie…”

_Effie might not be_.

Nobody said it but she didn’t like the way Cinna was acting. He looked concerned.

She met Prim’s gaze for a second and her sister forced a small smile. Then Gale was right next to her, his hand on her shoulder and, reluctantly she handed Peeta over. He tossed him over his shoulder but he was careful enough about it that she didn’t protest.

“If he wakes up, don’t get close to him.” she warned. And then, because Rory looked lost and small and scared, and Prim was clinging to Effie’s hand and she didn’t see what that would help, she licked her lips. “Prim, take Rory to the kitchen. You both need to clean up a little. Make some hot chocolate, okay?”

She didn’t wait to see if she would be obeyed, she hurried down to the basement to find the chains. They weren’t hard to locate because the basement might be the only room of the house that was kept strictly organized. Still, she hated it. They were heavy and old-fashioned irons with cuffs for the wrists…

She hated it and she hated herself when she carried them up the stairs, pausing only briefly enough to make sure the kids’ voices came from the kitchen and not the living-room. She couldn’t hear anything from the living-room, not even the low rumble of Haymitch’s voice.

She wanted to check on Effie but common sense told her Peeta would be a threat if he woke up and saw Gale.

Gale, who was just standing there in the corridor at the top of the stairs…

He made a face. “Wasn’t sure which room was the guest room and I didn’t want to go poking.” She led the way in silence, wrapping the chains around the wrought iron of the bedframe with a heavy heart. “What happened, Catnip?”

The question was uncertain and Katniss didn’t really know how to answer it. “How long were we gone?”

Gale helped her lie Peeta down and make sure he was comfortable – as comfortable as he was going to be with manacles around his wrists.

“Less than two minutes.” the boy offered. “How long was it for you?”

“More than a day.” she sighed. After a moment of hesitation, she decided Peeta would be more comfortable without the weird leather boots he was wearing so she took those off.

Gale watched her. “Do you know how long it was for them?”

“Close to three months.” she muttered, deciding those boots would have to be burned because, _clearly_ , they had been on his feet for _a long time_. Wrinkling her nose, she took in his general appearance and made a quick trip to the bathroom on the landing, Gale on her heels.

“And he’s… Why does Mellark need to be tied up?” he insisted.

“There was some magic stuff. He’s… He’s confused.” she explained reluctantly. “Haymitch says it’s going to go away…”

Gale snorted and muttered under his breath. “If _Haymitch_ says so…”

She didn’t have time to spare for his dislike of her Watcher so she didn’t answer, she just focused on grabbing some soap, a few towels and on filling a plastic tub with warm water.

“And the witch?” Gale asked after a few seconds. “She looked… She didn’t look good.”

Her heart clenched at the thought of Effie.

Haymitch hadn’t expected her to survive the magic explosion and he had had time to tell her about the telepathic conversation on their way back to the portal. The witch hadn’t expected to survive either. She had just wanted to get the three of them out of there…

It was…

It was _too_ _much_.

Gale grabbed the tub before she could get it out of the sink. Water splotched over the rim but she couldn’t care less. The adrenaline rush had come down hours earlier as they were walking their way through that hellish world and her body was hurting everywhere. She was exhausted, she was hungry and she really, really wanted a shower.

What she did was grab the soap and the towels and ignore the worried looks Gale was tossing her.

She realized only belatedly that she had never answered him about Effie’s state.

She didn’t have an answer.

Once they were back in the bedroom, she went to work as best as she could, focusing on cleaning the filth off Peeta’s face and every part of him that didn’t require taking his clothes off. He had stubble on his cheeks and his jaw. It made him look older. And the dark bags under his eyes…

It broke her heart to imagine what he had gone through.

It broke her heart.

Gale leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and his face closed and didn’t say a single word.

She wished he would go away.

°O°O°O°O°

Haymitch didn’t let go of Effie’s hand.

Not the whole time Cinna had his palm on her forehead, his eyes closed and his magic glowing around him – and her – in a purple, almost dark, halo. Rationally, he knew it had only been a few minutes and that it could take longer but there was this voice nagging at the back of his head that told him it was already too late, that she was either dead or _brain_ dead, that…

Cinna opened his eyes and took a small strangled breath, as if he had been holding it that whole time.

It was weird how Haymitch was hyper aware of everything. The echo of the two kids talking in the kitchen, the creaking of floorboards that meant Katniss and Hawthorne were moving around on the first floor, the ticking of the old clock on the wall…

“She will live.” Cinna offered and it was Haymitch’s turn to suck in a breath.

Relief was a potent thing.

It crashed over him so brutally that he bent in two, bowing over her body a little… He almost expected her eyelids to flutter open, her fingers to twitch in his hand, but she remained still, so still he couldn’t even really make out the rise and fall of her chest.

“She is really weak, though.” the warlock added.

“Do we need to get her to a hospital?” he asked, already trying to remember where she had left her car keys only to realize her car was broken and Peeta’s keys… Hawthorne must still have them. Come to think of it, maybe he should ask Hawthorne to _drive_ too, though. He didn’t like asking the boy for help but…

He would need to teach Katniss how to drive soon, he figured, because it was inconvenient she didn’t know how. _How_ _fun_.

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Cinna hesitated. “I shared some of my strength with her and stabilized her the best I could, I’m positive her body won’t fail. We just need to wait for her to wake-up, if she can drink and feed, she should be alright. She won’t be up to anything for days, though. Maybe weeks.”

That wasn’t ideal but they could manage to be down one witch for a few weeks. They could manage that a lot better than they could afford being down a witch _permanently_.

His heart was racing so fast in his chest it was almost painful. It didn’t help with the general dizziness.

“I can give her some of my strength too.” he offered. “You can take it from me.”

Cinna looked at him, as tired and serious as Haymitch felt. “You can barely sit straight. _You_ might need a doctor. Or a fix.”

There was a disapproval in the warlock’s voice that Haymitch didn’t care for. His alcoholism wasn’t up for debate. He hadn’t been like that when he and Cinna had met, when he and Cinna had fought side by side more regularly. That had come later, with dead Slayer after dead Slayer, with _Annie_.

“You worry about yourself.” he grumbled. “Didn’t forget what you did to Effie before we left. Been dabbling in dark magic a lot to find your girlfriend, have you?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Cinna dismissed, his eyes drifting to the couch and the dead witch still resting on it.

Haymitch would love to offer condolences or help or whatever it was the warlock needed but he didn’t have the energy for it. It was all he could do to gather Effie in his arms and stand up again, swaying dangerously on his feet until Cinna’s hand steadied him.

“The boy needs help too.” he said. “Katniss can fill you in.”

“I have considerable powers but I am not without my limits.” Cinna reminded him. “And keeping a hell portal open for close to two minutes took its toll…”

He shook his head. “Just… See if he’s okay, please. It’s not life or death for him. I don’t really like it but treating him can wait a bit…” He focused on keeping his feet straight and in front of each other - because there was no way he was tripping and falling down with Effie in his arms - but he paused on the living-room’s threshold. “What do you want to do about…”

His grey eyes darted to the dead woman in his living-room.

“I cast a stasis spell.” Cinna mumbled, reaching for Portia’s cheek. “I will bring her home when this is over.”

Haymitch didn’t comment because he wasn’t sure what to say.

He didn’t see this ending any time soon. Not with Snow out and free.

“There is something else you should know.” the warlock hesitated and when Haymitch paused again, the man cleared his throat. “I can barely feel her magic. This place doesn’t feel like her territory anymore.”

He was exhausted and it was the only reason why it took him so long to connect the dots. “She lost her magic?”

“I would not say she lost it _entirely_. It will most likely come back.” Cinna sighed. “But whatever it was they did to her, whatever it was _she_ did, she… _hurt_ _herself_. It is hard to put it better than that for someone who doesn’t have power. It will be a while before she can do magic again and it will be even longer before she is able to wield it as she did before this.” 

That… was not good. On a lot of levels.

Tactically speaking, it would be a blow.

Personally speaking… Being a witch was a huge part of who she was as a person. He wasn’t sure how she was going to react to that piece of news.

And yet there was nothing he could do about that right now except make sure she was safe. They could discuss it further with Cinna later.

“The wards on the Village… How good are they?” he asked.

“Less subtle than Effie’s.” Cinna promised. “Nothing will come in or out without my say so.”

Haymitch nodded his thanks and then made the long trek up the stairs. His shoulder and his head were throbbing in perfect synch but it was nothing compared to the nausea and the dizziness.

He needed a drink and he needed it fast.

He paused on the guest room’s threshold long enough to see Katniss was cleaning the boy up. Peeta hadn’t woken up yet, which was probably good. Hopefully, the kid would sleep the remnants of the magic off and there would be no other consequences than a headache and bad memories. He _fucking_ hoped so, at least. 

Cleaning them up, he decided once he had carefully placed Effie down on his bed, wasn’t a bad idea. Effie was as dirty as the boy and she would hate waking up covered with grime. As unsteady on his feet as he felt, once he was sure he wouldn’t be sick again, he closed his bedroom door and did the same thing Katniss was doing except he didn’t hesitate to strip the clothes off the witch’s body. He didn’t think she would mind and there was nothing ambiguous to his touch anyway, he was just helping her.

All the bruises he found there made him sicker to the stomach but not as much as the jutting ribs and the obvious proof of malnutrition. That demon had sucked her magic like a leech but he hadn’t even bothered making sure she would remain healthy enough to provide more magic. _Idiot_. He hoped Paylor had burned his corpse like she had promised she would.

Cinna had said she would be out of commission for days if not weeks but he hadn’t said what was now glaringly obvious to Haymitch: she would need _a lot_ of care. And he didn’t want to delegate that care to anyone else. 

He cleaned her up and dressed her with the long-sleeved blue shirt she liked to steal from him now and then but he wasn’t satisfied until she was under the blankets, tucked in and warm. Her body wasn’t cold as death anymore but it still wasn’t warm enough for his taste.

He sat on the edge of the bed when he was done and there was nothing else he could do to make her comfortable. He grabbed his head in his hands, hissing a little when his fingers accidentally touched the wound at the back of his skull he really should take care of at some point.

He needed a drink.

He needed a _fucking_ drink.

There was a half-empty bottle of moonshine on the dresser, less than two feet away but he couldn’t bring himself to go and grab it.

He didn’t know why.

Or maybe he knew why only too well.

There was a loud round of knocking at the door and he let out a long sigh. “Come in.”

He knew it wouldn’t be Katniss because Katniss wouldn’t knock. Prim wouldn’t do it with that much strength and Cinna… Cinna would just call him.

He wasn’t surprised when the Hawthorne boy opened the door and stood there, defiant and yet tired, that stubborn sulk on his face. “The warlock guy’s with Mellark. Katniss said to tell you she’s gonna sit with him a while and you should take a nap.” Haymitch snorted. Fat chances of _that_ happening. Hawthorne waited a second but when it became clear he wasn’t going to answer, his sulking face pinched even harder. “I’m borrowing Mellark’s truck. I’m gonna go pick up my other brother and sister and drop them off at _Sae’s_ ‘cause Mom’s frantic.”

“Make sure she knows not to be out after dark. When night comes your family should all be inside, the kids in particular.” he advised. “And I don’t mean inside a public place like _Sae’s_. Actually…” He let out another sigh. He needed to get in touch with the authorities, maybe the mayor, try to convince him that… “It’d be best if they closed _Sae’s_ before dark. All those people there… It’s inviting troubles.”

To convince anyone, he would probably need the weight of the Council behind him. He needed to call Coin anyway. It was overdue.

She would want to talk to Effie though and he wasn’t sure he wanted to reveal she had slipped into the Hellmouth and he had gone after her – _with his Slayer –_ instead of taking care of the threat.

He wasn’t impatient to write that part of his journal either: how he had frozen when faced with Snow instead of reacting on instinct and staking him, how he had preferred to drop to the ground to try to reach Effie and Peeta rather than do his duty…

He had failed on so many _fucking_ accounts…

“Alright.” Hawthorne nodded.

It was almost refreshing to hear the boy _not_ be contradictory.

“Check on the girl too, yeah?” he asked.

The boy frowned. “Katniss? I told you she plans to sit with Mellark for a while.”

“Madge.” he corrected.

“I texted her. They’re keeping her in the hospital until tomorrow at least but she’s okay.” Hawthorne grumbled, his face closing even more. “You shouldn’t have brought her to that _shit_. She ain’t a fighter.”

“Seems like she’s your kind of girl, then, yeah?” he mocked but then shook his head and regretted it immediately. “It’s good she’s alright.”

Hawthorne lingered there a while longer even though Haymitch wasn’t sure what else there was to say.

“I’m coming back after.” the boy warned.

“You _really_ don’t need to.” he muttered, giving up the battle against the dizziness and blindly fumbling back behind him until he could scoot up the bed and prop his back against the headboard. His hand found Effie’s shoulder. “In fact, please _don’t_.”

“Katniss’s gonna want to go after that vampire and you’re down two fighters.” Hatwhorne retorted and then sneered. “Probably three cause you look like _shit_. I don’t trust you to keep her safe.”

The boy stormed away before Haymitch could think up a witty reply to _that_.

Not that it mattered, did it?

The boy wasn’t wrong.

“I really _fucked_ up this time…” he mumbled for Effie’s sake. “I _fucked_ up everything.”

Including his relationship with her, probably…

Because his silence at the words she had offered… He wasn’t sure she would ever forgive him for _that_.


	2. Chapter 2

Katniss sat impatiently at the foot of the bed, her fingers distractedly playing with her hair tie, watching Cinna do his thing.

She wasn’t entirely certain what _his thing_ was though.

He had his palm flat on Peeta’s forehead and there was a weird purple halo around him that made her miss the warm glow of Effie’s magic. The dark purple seemed a little menacing to her but she wasn’t versed enough in magic to really _feel_ anything about it, not the way Peeta or Haymitch seemed to be able to, it was just a feeling.

Haymitch hadn’t kicked Cinna out after what he had done to Effie earlier though, so she supposed there was that. She still wasn’t sure she wanted to trust him but, right then, he was their only magical expert.

Peeta was still asleep and she let her grey eyes roam on his relaxed face, hoping and dreading that he would open his eyelids and look at her. They had been so full of hatred for her earlier. She wasn’t sure she could bear to see that again.

Finally, when the waiting became too hard, she untangled her braid and redid it properly, just to keep her hands busy. She was just finishing tying it up when the glow of magic vanished and Cinna reopened his tired eyes. They weren’t _all_ black anymore like they had been next to the Hellmouth but the rim of white was almost inexistent, which made her shiver despite herself. Her Slayer’s instinct told her the warlock was powerful and dangerous. And the smudged golden eyeliner did little to lessen that threat now.

If she was exhausted from the last few days – counting the one the others hadn’t lived through – Cinna looked almost as bad as she felt.

“I have good news and bad news.” he announced.

Katniss sighed. It couldn’t be simple. It couldn’t be _easy_. “Okay.”

As if he knew perfectly what she was thinking, the warlock’s lips twitched into a sad smile. “The good news is that I cannot feel any kind of coercion spell on him, his mind is his own.”

That was a relief and her shoulders sagged a little. “What’s the bad news?”

She was half ready for Cinna to tell her she needed to go find an antidote or something but the warlock only winced a little in sympathy. “The sort of compelling magic that was cast on him is aggressive and it lasted a long time… That’s traumatic for an untrained mind like his. He might remain confused for a little while. It will pass, Katniss, but you will have to be patient.”

She licked her lips. “Define _confused_.”

Cinna hesitated. “He might not know what’s real and what’s not anymore. You may have to remind him.”

_He might try to kill you again_. 

Cinna didn’t say it but she heard it anyway.

“But it _will_ go away?” she insisted. “He just needs to rest or something?”

Again Cinna hesitated. “I cannot say anything for sure until he wakes up but… It will go away or he will have to learn how to live with the discrepancy in his mind. Magic might also help but I’m reluctant to add another spell given what happened to him. Minds are fragile things.”

She didn’t get half of that and she really wanted Effie’s opinion so she decided she would wait for the witch to wake up and then let _her_ decide what they should do, if more spells were needed or not.

“Okay.” she sighed.

“Are you good to stay alone with him?” Cinna asked tentatively. “I apologize but I really need to lie down now if you want me to be of any use later on.”

“Sure.” she agreed without thinking about it, her eyes automatically darting to the alarm clock.

It was three pm.

That seemed even more surreal than the rest.

There wouldn’t be _a lot_ of daylight left though. If they wanted to use the advantage of sunlight…

“Don’t untie him.” the warlock advised. “Not even if he wakes up and acts normal. Let me examine him first, just to be on the safe side.”

She nodded, her mind wandering out of the room and to the major problem nobody had addressed yet.

She would wait for Gale to come back, she decided as Cinna left the room, and then she would rouse everyone and they would make plans.

One thing was for sure: Snow had to die.

°O°O°O°O°

Haymitch startled awake, alarmed to have dozed up.

He had broken in cold sweat and he was shivering but when his fingers touched his forehead, it felt hot.

_Shit_.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

He glanced at Effie, who hadn’t moved a finger, and then at the clock. Three thirty pm. He dragged himself out of bed but had to grab the dresser because the floor swayed under his feet.

The bottle of moonshine was right there, in front of him, and he grabbed it by reflex, brought it to his lips only to pause at the last second.

If a drop of liquor touched his tongue, he wouldn’t stop at a mouthful. He would drain the bottle and then find another. He just _knew_ it. His eyes drifted back to Effie.

Small consolation, he could see the soft rise of her chest now. She seemed to be breathing a little better, which was good.

_Really_ good.

He put the bottle back on the dresser and staggered to the bathroom right in time to drop to his knees and throw up. Or _gag and heave_ rather because his stomach was empty. Once he was sure he was done trembling over the toilet, he hauled himself up with difficulties and rinsed his mouth. He splashed water on his face and washed off as much of the sweat as he could without actually stepping into the shower stall.

He felt a tiny bit more freshened up but it didn’t help him feel more human.

Still, he changed his clothes.

They were dirty and stained with blood – some of it his, some of it demon blood – and took a good long look in the mirror. The man that stared back at him looked old, yellow and unsteady on his feet.

He would have to do, though.

After checking one last time that Effie was breathing well enough, he dragged his feet out of the room. He stopped on the guest room’s threshold but Katniss didn’t see him so he didn’t step inside. The girl was standing at the window, distractedly playing with her braid, her shoulders slouched in defeat… The boy still looked asleep and was still chained up so Cinna probably hadn’t deemed it safe to release him yet. That worried him, he hadn’t thought the backlash of the brainwashing spell would be that bad, he needed to talk with the warlock.

He backed away in the corridor as silently as he could but, before he could head downstairs, he heard the muffled sobs coming from the girls’ bedroom. With a small sigh, he let go of the banister and made his way there, focusing on walking straight and trying to ignore the terrible feeling he was going to be sick again.

The door wasn’t closed all the way. He stood there for a whole minute, fist lifted and poised to knock, only to finally simply nudge the door open. Prim was curled up on her bed, sobbing her heart out.

It broke what was left of his.

“Hey, sweetheart…” he said awkwardly, sitting on the bed. “You’re okay?”

That was a really stupid question but Prim sat up anyway, her usually rosy cheeks pale and bathed with tears. “I’m _so_ sorry, Haymitch… Everything’s my fault and now everyone’s dead… And… And…”

“ _Wow, wow, wow_ …” He frowned, reaching to tug on the half-unmade braid on her right side. “The _fuck_ you’re talking about? Nothing’s your fault.”

She shook her head. “If… If I hadn’t gone…”

“Yeah.” he sighed. “That was a bit stupid and I expected better from you.” He softened that by cupping her cheek, wiping the tears off with his thumb. “But you’re a kid and you’re bound to make mistakes, Prim. That’s life. That’s _okay_. Just don’t do something like this to me again, okay? Cause I know I’m bad at saying it but if anything happened to you…”

He shook his head, unable to word the rest, and not only because of the drill in his head giving him a headache.

“I’m sorry.” Prim repeated. “I’m _so_ sorry! They’re all dead… They’re all…”

“Come on, sweetheart, that’s not on you.” he muttered, opening his arms to her. She didn’t hesitate one second before hugging him. “It’d have happened anyway. The whole thing.”

Well, maybe not the part with Snow escaping because maybe they would have gone for the witch first but… _Would_ they have? With kids being slaughtered, wouldn’t they have tried to protect the innocents first?

He couldn’t say anymore.

He couldn’t tell.

All he knew was that his kid was sobbing her heart out, hard enough that she would make herself sick if she didn’t stop, and that made him _sad_.

“I saw Alyssa…” Prim told him. “Her throat… And… And poor Mrs Kilbert…”

She was too old for that but he pulled her on his lap like a much younger child anyway so he could hold her tighter. She clung to him like he was a lifeline and babbled about all the atrocities she had seen that day. He let her, petting her hair and listening since that was what she needed.

Eventually, she exhausted herself crying and fell asleep mid-sentence. He carefully laid her down and tucked the comforter around her as best as he could. He pressed a kiss on her forehead when he was done and told himself he didn’t love that kid half as much as he did. Because if anything _did_ happen to her, he was pretty sure it would kill him for good.

By the time he staggered into the kitchen, it was almost four and he was sweating like crazy again. He dropped the sweater even though standing there in only a shirt made him cold enough that his teeth were chattering together.

He needed to call the Council.

He needed to warn them.

But the thought of having to explain himself made him want to puke.

They would fire him this time, he knew it. Coin had already told Effie to take charge weeks earlier. What had happened that day was worse than failure and Haymitch would get fired and since Effie wasn’t in any state to stand up and come to the phone – or even to _lead_ …

They would send another Watcher.

And that Watcher would take over, take _Katniss_ from him and…

He couldn’t think straight.

He needed to call the Council.

He _knew_ he needed to.

But what he did instead was stumble to the counter, gather all the bottles in sight and pour them down the drain before he could give in to that particular temptation.

He couldn’t afford it.

He couldn’t afford to be less than at his best and sharpest.

Snow would come for him.

Snow would come for them all.

He would never have survived back in the days if he had been doing the job _drunk_.

“You picked the _greatest_ time to go sober.” Katniss sighed behind him and he startled because he hadn’t heard her come in. “Sit down.” He wanted to protest but his legs were _barely_ supporting him and when she grabbed his arm and guided him to a chair, he found himself flopping down. “Are you _sure_ you want to do this? Cause when we started this thing, you said I shouldn’t interfere with your drinking.”

“Can’t afford it.” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Push the heater on a bit, yeah?”

She made a face. “Put your sweater back on. It’s winter, you know, you shouldn’t be walking around without sleeves.”

“Too hot for sweaters.” he objected.

Katniss’ scowl deepened. “Do you need a doctor?”

He shook his head. “No time for doctors.”

“I can help.” Cinna offered, rounding the corner into the kitchen a second later. “I can’t magic you sober but there are potions that will help a lot more than any medicine can. It will speed up and lessen the withdrawal process but it won’t take away the cravings, Haymitch.”

Speeding the withdrawals up sounded like a good thing because it felt awful and he was very aware he hadn’t reached the bottom yet. “Great. I’ll take that.”

Cinna nodded. “Effie has most of what I need in her cupboards. I’ll start on it right away.” But before Cinna could go start on anything, the front door opened and closed. Haymitch sat straighter, already going for the knife at his waist, while Katniss tensed a little, but the warlock waved his hand. “It’s your friend. The other boy.”

And, a few seconds later, Hawthorne did step into the kitchen and tossed a couple of paper bags on the table. They had Sae’s brand logo on them and smelled like burgers. His stomach churned with simultaneous hunger and disgust.

Disgust won and he barely had time to bolt out of his chair and to the sink before he was sick.

A great start to the evening, no doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo Peeta's still tied, Prim is having an overdue breakdown, Haymitch should probably have that drink and poor Gale was actually being thoughtful for once, bringing dinner, look how that turned out! XD Hope you liked this chapter! Let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

Someone rubbed Haymitch’s back while he puked his heart out but it took him a moment to realize it was Katniss and that she looked concerned.

“Okay…” Hawthorne joked, a bit uncertain. “I thought we could all use an early dinner but…”

“That was a great idea.” Cinna cut in, pulling out a burger from one of the bags and immediately biting into it. “I am _starving_.”

With all the magic he had been doing, that wasn’t surprising.

Haymitch heaved a few more times and then wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, ignoring Katniss’ disgusted pout when she opened the tap to wash everything away. She also opened the window, which he didn’t take offense at.

“I’ll take mine to go.” she announced. “I’m going back to the Hellmouth. Gale, can you drop me off?”

“I’ll drive you.” Hawthorne agreed. “But I’m coming with you.”

“Bad idea.” Haymitch muttered, dropping back on the chair. The smell of the burgers still made him slightly disgusted but it was manageable. 

Katniss looked undecided, she watched the boy with suspicion. “Can you follow my lead this time or are you going to get hurt again?” She made a face. “Or maybe you’re going to try and steal _my power_ away to give them to some other poor girl?”

Hawthorne took the hit with barely a flinch. “I still don’t approve but I’m not letting you go alone. No way.”

“She won’t be alone.” Haymitch countered, trying to get to his feet but only managing to fall back on his ass right away.

“ _Right_.” The boy was downright mocking now, he looked back at Katniss with his eyebrows raised. “You ain’t _really_ taking that one as back-up, I hope?”

Haymitch opened his mouth to tell him to _fuck off_ but Katniss answered more quickly than he did.

“No, I’m not.” the girl confirmed.

“Like _hell_ you’re not.” he scoffed. “And you ain’t going charging in either. This isn’t your typical vampire nest. It’s…”

“I’ve got a plan, alright?” Katniss snapped. “I’ve been thinking about it.”

He glanced at Cinna who lifted his eyebrows and gave him a discreet shrug. The warlock didn’t have an idea and neither did he, really, so… “Okay. Let’s hear it.”

“Chances are, if Effie’s like that after a few months, Snow’s gonna be _fucking_ weak after centuries spent in the Peacekeeper’s custody. Right?” Katniss suggested, directing her question at Cinna.

The warlock nodded. “That is indeed likely.”

“Okay, so we need to take advantage of that.” she argued.

“Yeah, we really do.” Haymitch approved. “Problem is, Snow’s gonna be tucked in the middle of his vampire army, under a hotel full of people. The basement’s huge. And I mean _huge_.”

“There used to be an arena underneath. A life-sized one where he made various demons, humans and supernatural creatures compete.” Cinna hummed. “There were living quarters for him and his lieutenants too, it was a real royal court. Likely, that is where they are.” His face grew somber. “Which I should have realized _sooner_. Haymitch… You _knew_ the Careers were probably there.”

Haymitch made a face. “Might have suspected.”

“And you didn’t say anything?” Cinna growled, his eyes turning entirely black.

He took a deep breath. “Vampire army.”

“ _I could have saved Portia.”_ The wrath in that roar was pure magic and it made his skin _crawl_.

How he missed Effie and the gentle tingles of her magic…

“You would have gotten captured or killed.” he argued. “And since we would have been forced to go with you cause we’re the good guys, you’d have gotten us _all_ killed, Cinna. Tell me right now you would have done the safe thing and taken a minute to plan before rushing in. _Tell_ _me_.”

“Nothing can capture or kill _me_.” the warlock snarled.

“Effie’s mother _sure_ came close to killing you, though.” Katniss remarked with a glare. “And you almost bled Effie out earlier so, you know… Maybe don’t go casting stones. At least, Haymitch was trying to protect you.”

Cinna’s eyes slowly went from entirely black to a little less dark. Eventually he bowed his head in admission. “I would have lost control and rushed in.”

“The moment I had a good idea to take that place, I’d have told you.” he apologized. “But I didn’t have anything. It’s the same problem as it was back then. It’s _damn_ near too well protected.”

“I’ve got a plan.” Katniss insisted, folding her arms in front of her chest.

Hawthorne propped himself on the table, fishing a fry out of the bag. Haymitch pretended not to see because the sight of food was enough to make him want to puke again.

“We’re all ears.” he prompted.

“You’re sure you want to come?” she challenged the boy who simply nodded once. “Okay, then we sneak in. Gale will hit the fire alarm so the employees and guests evacuate and I set the building on fire. I sneak out, the vampires burn. All is well that ends well.”

Haymitch was silent for a moment but more because he was battling chills than because he was impressed by the plan. It wasn’t _an awful_ plan at all – and it really was better than the ones she used to come up with a few months ago – but…

“You’re gonna set a building on fire with the Seam’s police right in the meadow?” he mocked and then shook his head. “That’s the least of the problems with your plan anyway. Ain’t _too bad,_ sweetheart. You’re getting better at tactics.”

“What’s wrong with that plan?” Hawthorne asked. “If we can make sure the humans are out…”

“You are forgetting about the humans they might be keeping _below_ the hotel and who won’t be allowed to evacuate.” Cinna pointed out. “They have been in hiding for the most part, so they _must_ have some people for food and, perhaps, to be turned later. And with Snow weakened, they will probably want to keep him hidden away and fed for the time being so I would say human presence down there is almost guaranteed. If you set the hotel on fire, you are sentencing those people to death.”

“Then we go down and free them before torching the place.” Katniss shrugged.

“You and what army?” Haymitch prompted. “Cause we took out a lot of vampires in that meadow but we didn’t kill them all. They still outnumber us. If you go alone with only that boy for backup, that’s suicide. And not just for you.”

He held her gaze just long enough that she got his message.

Hawthorne was not him or Effie, or, for that matter, even Peeta. Peeta was only human but he had trained with them and already had good notions of hand to hand combat before he joined the team. Peeta also knew when to listen to orders and fall back. Hawthorne didn’t have the best track record with that.

Simply put, Haymitch didn’t want to send her into the wolf den with that boy for sole support.

“Fire would not work anyway.” Cinna pointed out. “They have tunnels.”

“Tunnels?” Hawthorne frowned.

“That part of the Seam is a cheese wheel.” Haymitch sighed. “There are old service tunnels that connect to what’s left of the old mines, to maintenance shafts, to the sewers… It’s a maze and that’s what vampires use to get around during the days. There are a few that come and go to the Capitol. You want to set the hotel on fire, you’re gonna have to collapse the tunnels first or it won’t do any good.”

“Can we do that?” Katniss asked seriously.

“Can you do that, rescue the humans, trigger the fire alarm and get out without getting spotted by the Careers, Snow or their army? All by yourself?” He shook his head. “No. And if they’re smart, and they’re definitely _fucking_ smart, those tunnels are gonna be heavily guarded anyway. My mom tried that back in the day, that’s how she got captured and tossed in that arena in the first place.”

He rubbed his face.

He hated to _say_ it but…

“I think for now the best bet is to… to do _damage_ _control_.” He hesitated. “We’re betting on Snow being weak but we don’t know for sure and we don’t know _how_ weak. He didn’t look good but I only got a glimpse of him… There’s no telling he’s not still powerful enough to take out a Slayer.”

“The more we will wait, the more powerful he will get.” Cinna pointed out.

“Can’t you do something?” Katniss demanded. “If you come with us…”

“I have been doing _a lot_ of magic today.” The warlock shook his head. “And even back then I was not enough to stop him alone. He’s been sired by an old one, I am just… I am the child of a demon, not its direct product. It might not seem like much of a distinction but, trust me, it does count.”

Hawthorne visibly flinched at the _child of a demon_ part.

“There’s no way you will get to Snow and back out alive.” Haymitch muttered. “And I don’t want you facing him alone.”

“But we have to do _something_.” Katniss argued.

“We could pack up and go.” Hawthorne suggested and when every pair of eyes turned to him, the boy shrugged. “Just putting that option out there. Is it really our problem if…”

“Ask that to all the dead kids.” Haymitch spat but he took a deep breath. “You’re right, though. It’s not _your_ problem and, I told you already, you _should_ take your family and go.” He licked his lips, swallowed hard and turned to Katniss. “And if he does that, we should consider sending Prim away with him. Maybe even Effie and Peeta until they’re… _operational_ again.”

“I’m not leaving Katniss.” Hawthorne argued stubbornly.

Haymitch ignored him but rolled with it. “Then we should discuss sending the kid to friends of mine in England.”

Mags and Finnick would take Prim in and make sure she lacked for nothing, he knew it. And short of that, he supposed they could also send her to Flickerman. He had been Effie’s Watcher, he might not mind.

None of them, he was sure, would mind taking Effie and Peeta in either, not even in their current conditions.

He was just trying to think about their well-being first. They were sitting ducks for now and…

Snow _loved_ sitting ducks.

Katniss stared back at him for a long time and then rubbed her eyes. “What do you want me to do for now if you don’t want me to attack them?”

He wavered.

If only the headache would leave him alone…

“Going back to the Hellmouth ain’t a bad idea.” he acknowledged. “You should patrol the woods. There’s still gonna be lots of cops around, probably… Make sure nothing gets to them. Watch _The_ _Capitol_ , see if you can get info. One of the Careers coming in or out… That sort of thing. But nothing reckless, Katniss. This ain’t gonna be a sprint, it’s gonna be a _fucking_ marathon. We won’t win by being impulsive, we’ve got to be _smart_.”

Katniss slowly nodded her understanding. “Fine. I’ll try to stay out of troubles.”

He snorted and slowly rested his head on the table because the kitchen was spinning all around him. “Like my girl on fire can do that…”

“I _hate_ when you call me that. I didn’t put myself on fire _on purpose_ and it was _one_ time _._ ” she grumbled.

“Two times.” he corrected. And all within a couple of weeks of her becoming the Slayer. “Cinna, fix the boy’s ribs before he goes.”

Hawthorne wouldn’t be much use with broken or cracked ribs. 

She patted his shoulder. “You’re staying here, then?”

He groaned his assent but realized belatedly she wasn’t talking to him.

“I will make the withdrawal potions for him.” Cinna answered. “Then I have a witch to find and kill.”

There was an edge to Cinna’s words.

He almost felt sorry for Effie’s mother.

But it was the smartest move.

Elindra was a threat.

They didn’t want Snow to go to her to fix him, after all…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at our little scoobies planning mayhem and murder XD So, how much do we trust Katniss and Gale to follow Haymitch's orders? And how much do think Elindra is toast if Cinna finds her? Let me know your thoughts! Next week, we take a scenic road trip with Gale and Katniss :p


	4. Chapter 4

By the time they made it back to the woods, daylight was declining into pinkish hues.

Katniss had wanted to leave immediately but with Haymitch almost out for the count and Cinna planning to pop out at some point, she had wanted to make some things certain. Like the fact Prim would know _not_ to go outside, _not_ to leave the Village and _not_ to open the locks on the door and windows under any, _any_ circumstance whatsoever.

The warlock promised the protections on the Village were entirely impermeable, completely different than the ones Effie had cast, that nothing could come or go without his say so, but Katniss only believed what she could see and magic was intangible to her.

She had also warned Prim _not_ to untie Peeta or get too close to him, not even if he woke up. That didn’t sit quite right with her but she figured Peeta would ultimately understand her reasons and wouldn’t be mad at her for it. He would want her sister to be safe too.

She had also told her to be wary of Haymitch because she had no clue how withdrawals worked – even less when magic potions were involved – but she sensed it wouldn’t be pretty and Haymitch could become dangerous. Cinna had insisted he would stay mostly lucid throughout the process with his potions’ help but _mostly_ didn’t cut it for her. She _had_ told Prim to search the house – and she had insisted on the _searching_ part, every little nook would have to be inspected – and to get rid of all the booze she could find.

Prim had wanted to talk to her, she had seen that plainly, but she didn’t have time and she wasn’t sure she was calm enough for that. Every time she thought back to the fact her sister had been stupid enough to lie and sneak out on a stupid field trip next to the Hellmouth, _rage_ washed over her like an unstoppable tide. It was an uncomfortable feeling because she couldn’t remember ever being this mad at Prim.

By the time she had finally been ready to go, Gale had managed to get his ribs fixed by Cinna and find enough arrows for both of them. Some were from his own stock, she recognized the fabrication, some were similar to the ones she had used in the hell dimension so they must have come from the basement. She really needed to take fifteen minutes at some point and craft her own or convince Haymitch to order some lighter ones that would suit her style better. She supposed the ones they had at the house were some he had ordered for himself on the rare occasion he used a bow – which was _never_ except if he couldn’t help it.

They hadn’t talked on the drive.

She had been wolfing down the now cold burgers and fries that were left and Gale had seemed lost in his own thoughts.

He parked the truck well before the road branched into the one that led to the hotel. They didn’t want to come blazing in and attract questions from the police.

“How do we do this?” he asked.

“You heard Haymitch.” she reminded him. “We patrol and we make sure nobody gets hurt. We try to get information while we’re at it.”

She finished the last bite of her third burger in a too big gulp that hurt when she swallowed it. For a second, it seemed like it would remain stuck in her throat before uncomfortably sliding down.

She wondered if a Slayer had gone that way before: death by burger.

“We make sure nobody gets hurt outside but we leave the human prisoners to be eaten and turned into more vampires inside?” he scoffed. “That’s alright with you?”

_Of course_ it wasn’t alright with her.

But she wasn’t suicidal either.

“Haymitch said…” she insisted.

“ _Haymitch said.”_ Gale repeated in a mocking mutter. “I don’t get why you listen to that guy. He’s a joke. You saw him, right? He’s a total _wreck_.”

_And so it starts_ , she mused.

“If you’ve got a problem with the way we do things, you can leave me here and go back home.” she snapped, hopping out of the truck and slamming the door shut. She immediately regretted the angry move because that wasn’t stealthy and Peeta’s truck was already not in the best shape and she didn’t want to make it worse.

“Like _hell_.” Gale grumbled, getting out of the truck too. They reached for the trunk at the same time, their fingers bumped into each other. She snatched her hand away, finding the whole thing very awkward. It never used to be awkward to be alone with Gale or to _touch_ Gale for that matter but now… He opened the trunk and handed her her bow and quiver. “I don’t get why _he_ ’s the one calling the shots, that’s all.”

“Who should be calling the shots, then?” she snapped. “You? You sure love to tell me what you think I can and can’t do.”

She shouldered her quiver and her bow, slipping a stake out of her jacket pocket. Just in case.

“It’s not about telling you what to do.” he grumbled. “It’s about keeping you _safe_. And, hey, if there was _someone_ in charge who seemed trustworthy, I might not be so worried but, seriously, what do you have? A drunk and a witch and now there’s a half demon person too? You _trust_ those people?”

“With my life.” she hissed. Well, Haymitch and Effie, at least. “They know what they’re doing, that’s the thing _you_ don’t get.” She hopped across the small ditch by the side of the road and stormed between two trees, pausing only long enough to get her bearings. She wanted to cover some ground through the woods around the hotel before heading to the Hellmouth, just to be on the safe side of things. “Effie could have been Called, she doesn’t look like it but she’s a great fighter.”

“She’s a witch and you can’t trust magic.” he spat. “It’s… It’s unnatural and _wrong_. You’ve seen the _thing_ at the talent show like I did. That demon…” He shuddered but kept pace with her, his bow in his hand. “It’s wrong.”

“I don’t like magic much.” she admitted. “But that was dark magic. Effie’s magic… It’s different.”

It was different from Cinna’s magic, it was different from her mother’s…

She thought back to that moment in the Village’s deserted street, next to the fountain, when the witch had saved Peeta’s leg and then Peeta’s life, when, for the first time, she had accessed her full potential… Despite being worried sick about the boy, Katniss had been in awe when Effie’s eyes had turned golden, when _everything_ had turned golden… It had been a little scary but not in a bad way. Effie had looked like some sort of goddess. A good one.

Her magic…

It was difficult for her to say, she had no talent to distinguish it, she could barely tell when magic was involved, but it didn’t feel threatening like Cinna’s did for instance.

“She’s good.” she finished and it was a lame enough explanation that Gale shook his head.

“Until she turns bad.” he insisted. “And she’s not the one in charge anyway. Abernathy…”

“Stop badmouthing him.” she growled, annoyed. “Everything he’s done for me…”

“That’s manipulation at its finest…” he scoffed. “He gave you all those things so now you feel grateful and you do what he wants because you think he cares. I’m telling you, men like him? They don’t care about _anything_ but getting the job done and since he’s _very bad_ at doing his job…”

“You don’t know _anything_ about Haymitch.” she snapped. “He trained five Slayers.”

“Yeah, and they’re all dead or you wouldn’t be here so, _sorry_ if I don’t find this great news.” he retorted.

“They lasted longer than most.” she insisted.

“Says who?” he challenged. “Him? The witch?”

She pursed her lips tight to control her anger.

She had known it wasn’t a good idea to bring Gale.

“I’ve read some of the Watchers journals.” she replied. “I know what I’m talking about. Madge’s aunt? Johanna Mason? They’re _easily_ considered two of the best Slayers of the century.”

“Since when do you care about being the best Slayer?” he challenged. “I thought you just wanted to protect Prim? Guess what, when you get yourself killed, that won’t be protecting your sister.”

She didn’t answer because she was too angry to be coherent and they were too deep in the woods now for her to send him back to the car by himself. With her luck, he would get himself killed by a vampire.

They walked in silence for a while.

That was the bright side of working with Gale in the woods, he could keep up with her and be just as discreet as she was in a way Peeta or Haymitch – never mind _Effie_ – had no hopes to be. Gale knew how to avoid creaky trigs, knew how to hunt…

Even if there didn’t seem to be anything to hunt around there…

The closer they got to the Hellmouth, the less traces of animals they found.

She wondered if that was because the vampires ate them or because animals’ instinct knew to avoid black magic like it would a forest fire.

“You’re _really_ going to send Prim away to England?” he eventually asked in a whisper. 

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

She was considering it.

She would have entrusted her sister to Gale’s family without a moment of hesitation but England… England was really far away and she didn’t know the people Haymitch wanted to send her to. She wasn’t sure. She supposed it would be one thing if they sent Effie and Peeta along – not only because once they were better, they would take care of Prim but also because Prim might kick less of a fuss about leaving if they spun it in a way that implied she was leaving to take care of _them_.

Sending Effie and Peeta away though…

She chased those thoughts away for now, it was a problem for later consideration.

And the decision wasn’t really hers and Haymitch’s to make. If Effie woke up, they could ask her what she wanted to do. Unlike Peeta, she should have her wits about her right away. In theory.

“The evil witch… It was Trinket’s mother?” Gale insisted.

There was so much he didn’t know…

To be fair, he had jumped into danger without a single hesitation.

“Yeah.” she sighed. “She killed Cinna’s girlfriend and took her powers or something… She’s a dark witch. Don’t try to take her out, she’s powerful. You see her, _run_. I think we’ll leave her to Cinna.”

Gale nodded his understanding. “But she’s a dark witch and you think her daughter’s gonna stay good?”

He looked too smug, as if he had found the flaw in her reasoning.

“My mom’s in a clinic cause she couldn’t bear taking care of us after my dad died.” she retorted. “Do you see me or Prim curled up in a ball crying all day long? Parents are overrated.”

“Not always.” Gale argued, a bit defensively.

She supposed he was talking about his own mother.

She had envied him Hazelle for years.

But now… Well, she kind of had Haymitch, didn’t she? And she _did_ have Effie too, in a way.

Family wasn’t always blood related.

“What about the weird guy?” he whispered. “He popped into Heavensbee’s car in a puff of smoke, you know. I was barely controlling the car when the earthquake hit, he almost gave me a heart attack. Next thing I know, the car’s steady again and we’re speeding away. I thought he was okay, though, for a wizard. And now he’s the child of a demon? How does that even work?”

He made a disgusted face as if he was contemplating the logistic.

And probably imagining very scaly ugly demons.

“Some demons look human enough.” she explained. “And not all demons are bad.” She spared a thought for Paylor. It had been so many hours since they left… They would be months ahead in the hellish dimension now. She hoped they had rebuilt their society and that they were alright. Then, she got distracted by the blinking lights in the distance. “Quiet now.”

Gale nodded once, his shoulders tensed.

They crept closer to the police’s flashing lights. The night had completely fallen now and the cops seemed nervous. They were in a hurry, Katniss saw once they were close enough to the meadow. They were charging small body bags in the refrigerated trucks and they were being quick about it. Quite a few of them had their weapons at the ready…

“Is it me or do they look like they know there are monsters bumping in the night?” Gale murmured, low enough that it wouldn’t carry.

“Not surprised.” she answered. “Snow used to control the town and half the state. People forgot or invented rational explanations for themselves but… Authorities _must_ know.” It seemed too much of a stretch that the Mayor would marry the twin of a Slayer and not know about what was really going on in dark alleys... Never mind the high mortality rate and all the _animal attacks._ “That’s a good thing. It means they won’t be easy prey. Let’s circle around the meadow.”

They did just that, keeping to the shadows of the woods.

Katniss tried to keep her Slayer senses wide open in case she felt a vampire hiding close by but there was no prickling at the base of her neck. The woods looked as dead as the lightning tree in the meadow.

Which was deceptive…

By the time they had circled around the meadow, the last of the bodies was in the refrigerated trucks and the cops were hurrying to their cars. They were gone within two minutes.

Katniss and Gale both froze where they were and stared at the Capitol for what felt like ages.

She kept expecting the vampire army – or at least the Careers – to saunter out to admire their handiwork. It was hard to tell in the night but Katniss could see the darkest splotches in the dead grass where it was covered with blood. And there were the flies.

Lots and lots of flies.

Nobody came out of the hotel though.

They sat there for almost an hour and nothing changed.

There were lights at the windows, cars in the parking lots, presumably guests and staff were moving around inside…

It all looked far too quiet though.

“I want to check inside.” she decided.

“Okay.” Gale immediately approved. “Maybe we can see if we can get the prisoners out.”

“No.” She shook her head. “We’re not sneaking to the basement or anything like that. If Haymitch and Cinna say it’s suicide, I believe them. But the hotel itself… Doesn’t it look weird to you? Look, there are cars in the lot… Why is no one coming or going?”

Her friend hesitated and then made a face. “Maybe ‘cause a lot of kids were murdered in what’s basically their front yard and they’re grossed out?”

That was actually a valid explanation but she had a bad feeling about this.

“I need to find a back door or an open window or something…” she muttered. “Come on.”

They carefully rounded the hotel, sticking to the shades of the biggest trees.

Maybe she should have waited for daylight to do that but… That feeling in her chest, her Slayer’s instinct, it told her something was _wrong_.

They eventually located the staff door on the far side of the building.

They watched it for a while but nothing happened there either so Katniss made a split decision. She was torn between the knowledge she would be quicker and safer by herself and the fact leaving Gale alone in the woods might result in a vampire making a snack of him.

“If I take you in with me, you have to do what I say.” she warned him.

“Yeah, okay.” he agreed but he wasn’t meeting her eyes.

She grabbed his arm, hard enough to bruise. “I’m _serious_ , Gale. You can’t push me out of the way, you can’t put yourself between me and my target, you can’t do _anything_ you think is for my own good. If you do any of this, I’m never talking to you again. After the last time, I _barely_ trust you right now. The only reason I called you earlier is because Rory was in danger. You follow my lead or you never talk to me again. Are we clear?”

He didn’t look happy but, this time, he met her eyes. “Crystal.”

She nodded back at him, ignored the fact his gaze was lingering when hers had already turned away and she took a deep breath.

“Alright then. Let’s break and enter.”

It had been a while since she had done something that might get her arrested, after all. She was overdue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT COULD GO WRONG? XD Well, they behaved up until the end, didn't they? Who wants to hit Gale? We'll organise a very nice line and take turns like with a piñata... I promise someone will wake up next week. Will it be Snow? Peeta? Effie? Maybe just Haymitch? XD Let me know your thoughts!


	5. Chapter 5

Haymitch had this feeling Katniss would do something reckless before the night was through.

Not that he could do anything about it for now, he reminded himself, staring at his pitiful reflection in the mirror before splashing water on his face. All he could do right then was trust she would obey his instructions and not try something foolish like break into _The Capitol_ to rescue people – and hope Hawthorne wouldn’t get them both killed by doing the stupid thing.

He would have been so much happier if it had been Peeta with her instead of that boy…

But Peeta was still asleep.

Prim was keeping an eye on him – at a distance – just like she was keeping an eye on _him_ – _still_ at a distance because he had insisted when she had come to get all the liquor out of the room.

Cinna’s potions tasted like dirty socks.

He thought it might have been revenge for hiding the fact Portia might have been kept in the Capitol.

Haymitch had gagged when the warlock had made him swallow them and he still wasn’t sure he wasn’t going to throw up. Spending the night in the bathroom was tempting but, eventually, he dragged himself back to the bedroom, carrying a bucket behind him like the wreck he was, and dropped on the side of the bed Effie wasn’t currently lying on.

Her arm had moved.

It was over the blanket now.

That was good, surely…

That meant that she wasn’t dead for sure – and, _yeah_ , he had been checking her pulse regularly but she looked so pale and still that… And that also meant she might be getting warm under the heap of blankets he had piled on her.

And since she was warm, he didn’t feel too much guilt stealing one for himself because he was shivering again.

He lasted two minutes before it became suffocating and he tossed it away.

He was running a fever, that was obvious to him. He felt terrible. Like he was about to throw up every two seconds, his middle-section hurt with cramps, the shaking of his whole body was actually painful… Cinna had said the potions would lessen the effects but if that was what it was like when the withdrawals were tuned down, he was _never_ touching another drop in his life – or he was never getting sober again, whatever worked best in his favor.

He supposed it could have been worse.

There were no nightmarish hallucinations and as bad as the fever was, he was still mostly lucid enough that he didn’t think it was a risk to be so close to Effie. He wasn’t scared he would accidentally hurt her. Not for now. If that changed, he would go and lock himself in the bathroom.

The bathroom wasn’t bad. It didn’t have the bed but it had the toilet.

He tried to doze off and sleep, being unconscious for the worst part of this seemed _great_ , but he couldn’t stop his mind from running ahead. He worried about Katniss, he worried about Effie and the boy, he worried about Cinna who had run off on his own to find a witch…

He couldn’t sleep.

He rolled on his other side, turning his back to Effie, and curled up in a vain effort to control the pain. His grey eyes fell on the leather journal on his nightstand. Like all other Watcher journals, it was beautiful – or it had been before passing in his clumsy hands. It was supple, leather bound and with crispy blank pages… The kind of journals you only find in rare stationery shops nowadays.

He had filled five of those journals. This one was his sixth.

It would also be his last and he might not get to finish it. He imagined once he would finally get over himself and talk to the Council, Effie would be taking it over as she would officially become the active Watcher…

He needed to chronicle the Reaping first, though. Katniss was still his Slayer and this was still his responsibility. He would bear the blame for that fiasco.

“Hello, Mitchy Bitchy.”

He startled, his gaze darting from the journal to the foot of the bed. His stomach churned for brand new reasons.

“You’re not real.” he mumbled.

Of course, she wasn’t real. Because Mabel Larson had been dead for close to twenty-three years. She had no business sitting crossed-legged at the foot of his bed.

_Fuck_ , he had hoped he wouldn’t get the hallucination stuff, that the potions would prevent that… Cinna had promised he would mostly stay lucid, that they didn’t need to lock him up or tie him down…

He braced himself for the reproaches anyway, the accusations… He was too used to this particular dance in his nightmares.

“What’s _real_?” Mabel made a face. “You know me, I’m not good with the philosophical questions. It’s like I always told Mags…”

“Point me in the direction of what needs killing…” they finished at the same time and Haymitch closed his eyes because that part was painful to remember.

Mabel had always been a touch reckless, more than he would have liked. 

“Yeah.” She grinned and it was that same grin that had made his heart clench when he was younger. “You don’t look good.”

“Ain’t dead yet.” he countered. “Give me the speech and go away.”

She tilted her head to the side with a small frown. “What speech?”

“You know… I hate you, it’s your fault I’m dead…” He snorted. “That one.”

Her face softened. “Oh, Haymitch… Of course, I don’t hate you and, of course, it’s not your fault I’m dead. I’m glad you survived.”

Well, that was a nice change. Maybe the potions _were_ useful.

“I’m good at that, turns out. Surviving.” he commented with self-loathing. He allowed himself to look at her a little more fully. She looked sharper than in his usual nightmares. Her features were neater, the colors were less vibrant than, say, the blue comforter but they were still much more vivid than they usually were… His ghosts were all in grey. 

Mabel looked… not _alive_ but…

Her long straight dark hair was loose and fell past her shoulders, she was wearing the same typical clothes she used to wear on patrol: black leather pants and a black tank top, and there was that thing around her neck that had been so popular with the girls in the late nineties… It was a cheap plastic choker that sort of imitated a spirally tattoo. Mabel never took it off. It came in all the colors of the rainbow but Mabel’s had been a crimson color that had washed away to a pale red at some point…

It was stupid but it was the choker that made Haymitch’s throat close.

She had loved that stupid thing.

She wanted to get a real tattoo just like it.

She never had time to get one.

Her grey eyes were fixed on him, a bit sad. A bit knowing.

“You don’t look like my usual hallucinations.” he grumbled, almost regretting it. This one was certainly nicer but she was also closer to the real thing, which made it more difficult.

“Maybe I’m not a hallucination at all.” she pointed out. “Maybe I’m a ghost. Maybe because of the withdrawals and the potions you are in the right frame of mind to be haunted.”

“Wouldn’t mind you haunting me all the time if you’re like this.” he admitted before he could think better of it.

It never paid to encourage hallucinations.

Was it possible, though? That she was _actually_ Mabel? Ghosts existed, that wasn’t a question. And there were multiple instances of a dead Slayer’s spirit coming back to guide another Slayer down the right path in the Watcher journals. But a Slayer visiting _a Watcher_? He couldn’t remember that happening. 

“Oh, trust me, Mitchy Bitchy, you would mind after a while.” she chuckled. “Your girlfriend would have to banish me.”

He winced. “She ain’t… She ain’t my girlfriend.”

He forced himself to prop himself up against the headboard just so he could face Mabel and keep an eye on Effie at the same time. She hadn’t moved again. Her arm was still over the blankets but in the same position.

It hurt to look at her.

She looked so fragile, so hurt, and…

_I love you…_

His silence had been damming.

_I thought so_.

It was that last part that made him feel most guilty.

But the mere thought of entertaining the idea of _love_ right then...

“Why?” Mabel asked in a soft voice.

He looked back at her, his guilt deepening ten-fold.

“You know why.” he dismissed. “I love you.”

The words were so easy when it came to tossing them at a dead girl.

“I’m sixteen forever and very dead.” she argued, a touch of teasing in her voice. “That’s creepy.”

“You know what I mean.” he grumbled.

“I know what you _think_ you mean.” She shrugged. “And I also know you’re being _an_ _idiot_.” She propped her elbow on her knee and rested her head in her hand, watching him. “An idiot who’s lying to himself.”

He didn’t want to hear any of that so he groaned. “I’m an idiot with a fever who’s talking to a figment of his imagination so why don’t you _fuck off_ where hallucinations live? I like it better when you come and scream at me that it’s my fault you’re dead.”

“But it _isn’t_.” she snapped. “I was never going to live forever, Haymitch. _Hell_ , we both knew I would never live to see eighteen.”

He shook his head in denial. “You could have. Some Slayers…”

“Yeah. The great ones.” she cut him off. “Most of those you trained yourself. _Me_? I was too reckless. Mags knew it, ask her. I was always running toward danger instead of pausing to think. I was always going to die young. I had a death wish. You’re the only one who was hoping for a miracle, Haymitch.”

“No.” he refuted. “You were…”

“The only reason anyone remembers me at all is because I was one of the Seam’s Slayers.” she interrupted again. “Death is my gift.”

He flinched. “ _Don’t_.”

Annie had been repeating those words again and again toward the end. So much that it had haunted him during his sleep well before she drowned.

_Death is my gift_ , she would say under her breath again and again… So broken, that girl. _So broken_ … Finnick might have put her pieces back together given time… But then… Well, then the Selkie had come. And he still wasn’t sure it was the demon who had killed her, he still wasn’t sure she hadn’t let herself drown.

“Do you understand what it means?” she asked, not unkindly.

“I don’t care what it means.” he spat.

“I am at peace, Haymitch. The moment I died, I was _at peace_.” she explained anyway. “It was my reward.”

“ _Bullshit_.” he snarled.

“Of course, Slayers are also very good at killing so you might want to interpret that the literal way but…” She flashed him a sad smile. “Deep down, you know I’m right.”

Did he?

Maybe.

She glanced at Effie. He expected the anger, the recriminations but she didn’t look jealous or resentful. She looked… Well, she looked _at peace._

“You’re very tangled in the Slayer line, aren’t you?” she sighed. “That’s fate for you, I guess. Your fate has always been entwined to Snow’s. Hers is tangled with yours. You’ll need her. She’s important.” Her grey eyes traveled from the witch back to him. “Not just because of her magic. Don’t be so afraid of your feelings. It’s alright to lean on someone, to need them. To _love_ them. You were so good at loving. So good at loving _me_. How did you forget _that_?”

He wiped the sweat from his brow. “I grew up.”

“That’s sad.” she remarked. “For what it’s worth, I like her. She’s funny.”

“She’s funny.” he agreed. And smart. And brave. And so _fucking_ hot when she fought a vampire or a demon it was enough to give him a hard-on.

Mabel smiled as if she knew perfectly well what he was thinking and that made him uncomfortable. It was a little sad, that smile. Wistful maybe.

“I came to talk about Katniss.” she said suddenly, as if remembering something.

He frowned. “What?”

“She needs to stay away from Snow.” Mabel warned.

“Not really practical if we want to kill him.” he pointed out.

She let out an annoyed sigh – the exact same sight she always breathed out when he tried to force her to _wait_ and _think it through_ before rushing into a fight. “For now, he is weak but her blood is the key. If he gets it, you will lose.”

“Her blood is the key?” he repeated. There was something in there that made sense but his tired feverish brain couldn’t figure it out. “What does that…”

“I love you.” she cut him off. “Now and forever. And I know you love me but don’t let that stop you from being happy. I’m dead. She’s not. Burying your head in your ass doesn’t suit you, Watcher.”

“I told you…” he argued but stopped entirely when he felt tentative fingers coil around his wrist.

“Who… are you… talking to?”

He looked down at Effie.

Her eyelids were fluttering as if she was fighting to keep them open, her voice was raspy and rough from disuse but she was _fucking_ awake and he forgot everything else.

“Sweetheart… You scared me to _death_.” he whispered, the lump in his throat making him choke. “Prim! _Prim_!” Effie winced at his screaming. She tried to lick her lips but she must have been parched because she smacked them together a few times instead. He cupped her cheek in his shaky hand. “I’ve got you, Princess. I’ve got you.”

Prim came barging into the bedroom, in her PJs but completely alert. “Are you okay?” Her gaze fell on Effie who had rolled to her side and she squealed in joy. “ _Effie_!”

Effie groaned again and buried her face half in Haymitch’s arm and half in the pillow.

“She needs something to eat.” he told the girl. “Liquid. Broth or something. Please.”

He added the last part belatedly but the girl had already rushed off.

“Nightmare…” his witch mumbled, curling up a little. She winced, which must mean she was in pain somewhere…

“It’s over.” he promised. “You’re okay.”

She didn’t seem entirely lucid, a lot less than he was anyway and _he_ was hallucinating…

He glanced at the foot of the bed but Mabel was gone.

Hallucination or ghost?

_Her blood is the key. If he gets it, you will lose._

Prim ran back into the room with a bowl carefully cradled between her hands. It hadn’t been that long, had it?

“I made myself chicken soup.” the girl explained. “I took out the noodles. You think she can drink it? She needs water at the very least…”

He reached for the bowl and then stopped himself because there was no way he could hold a bowl or a spoon. “You’re gonna have to do it.” He crawled away to the foot of the bed to leave her room but didn’t stop there. He dragged himself to the old armchair under the window. He didn’t want to be too close to Prim just in case.

He would kill himself before he accidentally hurt that kid.

Effie whined and moved her head aside when Prim tried to feed her the soup. It took some gentle coaxing on the girl’s part before the witch either gave up out of exhaustion or consented to cooperate. The spoon feeding was a slow and painful process.

The bowl was still half full when Effie finally refused to have any more.

“Go back to sleep…” Prim encouraged. “You need to rest and get your strength back.”

“Haymitch…” she muttered.

“Here.” he promised. His head was so heavy… He rested it against the back of the armchair. “Right here, sweetheart.”

“Nightmare…” she mumbled again.

“It’s alright.” Prim murmured, gently petting her hair. She started humming a lullaby and, slowly, Effie seemed to settle down. After a few minutes, the girl looked up at him. “She’s asleep.”

“Good.” he mumbled because he wasn’t far from that himself. “Katniss’s back?”

“Not yet.” The girl shook her head. “But it’s still early enough.”

“Peeta?” he asked next, forcing his rebellious brain to cooperate.

“No change.” She sounded worried. “He hasn’t woken up yet.”

That was potentially concerning. He would give it the night. If the kid wasn’t awake by morning… A general trip to the ER might be in order. For the boy, Effie, maybe himself…

“You should go to bed.” he said. He doubted school would open the next day given what had happened that afternoon but… Still…

Prim immediately shook his head, hugging herself. “I’m scared.”

He frowned. “You’re safe inside.”

“I’m scared of having nightmares.” she admitted.

“Ah…” He could understand that only too well. “Sleep with Effie… I’ll be here if you’ve got a nightmare, sweetheart.”

“But… You need to lie down too…” she pointed out.

He waved his hand. “I’m good here.”

The armchair wasn’t that bad once he curled up on it.

He wouldn’t be more comfortable anywhere else anyway.

There was no getting comfortable with the state he was in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallucination or nightmare? Seems like either way Mabel ships it :p And Effie woke up! Did you like this chapter? Let me know your thoughts!


	6. Chapter 6

Breaking in _The_ _Capitol_ was surprisingly easy.

It was alarming _how_ easy.

The staff door was unlocked and while they both braced themselves for an alarm, there was no loud siren alerting anyone a burglary was happening.

Not that this was a burglary, Katniss mused as she picked her way a little bit at random.

The only time she had been inside the hotel was during that party so many months ago, a little after she had been Called. It was the night she had met Cashmere. The night Peeta had found out her secret.

Her heart clenched when she thought about Peeta. Had he woken up yet? She hoped he was alright.

Gale lurked behind her, dutifully following in her footsteps and all she could think was that she would have liked it better if it was Peeta with her, which was neither fair nor nice. But, she supposed, she wasn’t a fair nor a nice person.

They wandered down a few corridors without meeting anyone – which was good because she wasn’t sure how they would have explained the bows and the quivers full of arrows. The plushy red carpet muffled their footsteps.

It all looked so pretentious…

The red carpets, the golden moldings… She was pretty sure the rooms were more luxurious than anything she would ever be able to afford… She didn’t know how they stayed in business in the Seam though. Most of the tourists were hikers or hunters… A resort like this…

Gale tugged on her sleeve lightly and she frowned at him in question.

“Is it me or is this place spooky?” he whispered.

“No, it’s not you.” she confirmed.

There was something in the air.

The more they wandered around, the worse that feeling got.

At some point, she pressed her ear to one of the rooms’ door.

There were noises inside. Nothing alarming, though. There were definitely people inside the hotel but…

“It isn’t that late, is it?” she asked, a bit puzzled.

Gale waved his bare wrist in answer. No watch. She didn’t go to the trouble of rummaging in her pockets for her phone – she hadn’t charged it anyway, chances were the battery had died again. But it _couldn’t_ be _that_ late.

Were hotels this dead so soon after sunset?

They were up to the third floor when they heard the sound of a rolling cart.

There was nowhere to hide and no time to do anything.

They remained standing there like idiots while the bellboy rolled an empty room-service cart out of the next room…

Even the uniform was ridiculous. Red and gold, like something out of an old movie.

“We’re… We’re lost.” Katniss stuttered. It was the first excuse that went through her mind. Not a great one if the way Gale’s mouth twitched with amusement could be believed.

“Yeah.” He nodded anyway. “We were hunting in the woods and we got turned around and…”

The bellboy didn’t answer them or even look at them, he pushed the cart, his gaze straight ahead…

It was like he didn’t even _hear_ them.

“Hello?” Katniss hesitated, walking right next to him.

His eyes were glassy, distant. _Absent._

Gale frowned. “What the _fuck_?”

Eventually, she chose to let the bellboy go on his way.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Let’s check out the lobby.”

They met a maid on their way down there and she had the same weird expression on her face as the bellboy. She didn’t seem to notice them either.

“They’re walking around like zombies…” Gale remarked. “You think… It almost looks like they’re hypnotized.”

And then it _clicked_.

“Enobaria has a thrall.” she realized. “She must be keeping the staff and the guests under her control…”

Snow had a thrall too, though. Was it possible he wasn’t as weak as they were hoping for and had cast a thrall on everyone already?

“A _what_ now?” he asked.

“Some vampires have powers. It’s rare though.” she explained quickly. “Thralls are like hypnosis, I guess. I’ve never seen it. Haymitch said you could learn to resist them.”

But she hadn’t trained for that and now wasn’t the right time for a crash course.

“So if she’s keeping the staff and the guests prisoner up here with her thrall thing… Maybe we could get them out.” Gale suggested. “If they’re not in the basement, it’s not as dangerous, right?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know. I don’t want her finding out we’re here. There’s no way she’s going to show up without back up and it’s going to be hard enough to kill _her_. If Gloss’s around too…”

She didn’t like her odds.

She didn’t like leaving innocent people behind either.

She hated hard decisions like this.

It was easier when Haymitch or Effie were there to take them for her.

“Let’s check the lobby and then head out.” she said. “This is their turf. I don’t want to fight them on their turf.”

It was one thing to light a fire and let the place burn with vampires inside during daylight.

It was entirely another to go charging in at night without one single skilled fighter at her side.

The lobby was pretty much what she had expected though. There was a guy behind the gleaming mahogany counter who was standing there, rod straight, apparently not aware of his surroundings.

The prickles at the back of her nape warned her there was also someone else hiding in the shadow on the other side of the entrance and she quickly dragged Gale back down the corridor toward the staff room.

“It doesn’t feel right to leave those people…” her friend insisted.

“I know. But right now, it’s the smart thing to do.” she replied. “We’ll see what we can do for them in daylight. I’ve got a bad feeling, Gale. We need to leave. _Now_.”

She kept expecting a vampire to jump out of a dark corner and into her path but nothing happened.

They reached the staff entrance…

“Don’t be locked.” she muttered under her breath when she pushed the door they had used on their way in.

It wasn’t locked.

They spilled into the cold night, breathing in equally relieved gulps of air.

Relief didn’t last long though.

Her hairs rose on her arms, goosebumps erupted on her skin…

She whirled around just in time to parry the fist that was aiming for the back of her head but the instinctive kick she launched only hit the air because her target was faster and far more skilled than she was.

“ _Shh_ …” the Career ordered, her hand closing around her throat. “How kind of you to fall on my lap. I was just about to go looking for you.”

Her eyes met the golden feral ones of Enobaria’s vampire face and she immediately settled, letting her push her against the wall, letting her tighten her grip on her throat because…

Well…

There was a voice in her head that told her she didn’t want to fight, that she was tired, that she just wanted to rest…

At least until the vampire’s attention abruptly switched targets and she lifted her free hand in Gale’s direction. “Drop the bow. Pretty thing like you, it would be a shame to kill you. I like my playthings…”

Gale resisted for about two seconds before dropping the bow.

It was the only respite Katniss needed.

A little more clear-headed now that Enobaria wasn’t staring straight at her, she kicked the vampire’s right leg, took out her stake and stabbed her.

The angle wasn’t right for her heart but the stake dug deep in her shoulder and the vampire let her go with a scream of pain.

Katniss didn’t try to take advantage of that.

Enobaria was too strong for her and she didn’t like the fact the rest of the vampire army – or _Gloss_ – could join her.

So instead of trying to fight her, she ran, grabbing Gale and half-carrying him out of there because the boy was as unresponsive as the bellboy and the maid had been. It took almost a whole minute before he shook out of it and started running on his own. He was holding his injured side though, so whatever Cinna had done to his ribs, it hadn’t entirely fixed them. She was going to insist the warlock get a crash course in healing magic.

Enobaria was hot on their trail even as they barreled through the woods with no thought for stealth.

The vampire was gaining ground.

They wouldn’t make it to the car.

“Road.” Katniss tossed.

Gale switched directions without hesitation, following her lead.

A few minutes later, they left the cover of the trees to burst on the road that led to _The_ _Capitol_ and the Hellmouth.

Katniss stopped running and whirled around just in time to see the vampire duck beneath a branch.

“Go get the car.” she ordered. “Be as quick as you can.”

Because she wasn’t sure how long she could hold her own against her.

Gale hesitated and Katniss was so certain it was the moment he would disappoint her yet again by refusing to _trust her_.

Maybe Gale could learn though because he started running again, toward the crossroads where they had left Peeta’s truck. How long would it take for him to reach it? How long before he drove back there?

She didn’t have time to truly ponder the question because Enobaria attacked her without pausing for breath – not that the vampire _needed_ breath.

Enobaria seemed to favor her bare hands and fangs to weapons, which was good in Katniss’ book. Easier.

The vampire was too fast, too powerful.

It forced her to be on the defense instead of on the attack, to avoid punches and flying feet rather than try and land kicks of her own.

It was a fight that demanded all her focus and that left her out of breath and sweaty. The bow, the quiver, the leather jacket… All of that was slowing her down but she didn’t find time to chug them off because the onslaught was unrelenting.

And yet she had the strange feeling Enobaria wasn’t trying to _actually_ kill her, as if she was holding back a little…

She hadn’t slept, though. She hadn’t slept or rested and the Reaping and the castle attack were still fresh in her body’s memory.

It was inevitable she would make a mistake.

And that mistake sent her flying.

She skidded on the asphalt for a good three feet.

_Everything_ hurt.

She tried to get up but a kick sent her back down.

She crawled back but Enobaria just followed her, standing a few inches in front her, towering there with a smug look on her vampire face.

“The Master will reward me for this.” Enobaria hummed.

She reached down to grab her just when Katniss heard the sound of the engine.

They barely had time to turn their heads before the headlights blinded them.

The truck was going too fast and showed no sign of slowing down.

Katniss got it a second sooner than Enobaria and scrambled out of the way.

The vampire was slower and didn’t manage to avoid the speeding truck. It hit her with a sickening crunch, she rolled over the windshield, was flung off the roof and to the side…

With a growl of pain, Katniss got to her knees and then to her feet and staggered to the truck that had stopped a few feet away. She climbed on the backseat because it was the closest door.

“Go!” she said. “Go!”

Gale had the truck back in motion before she even closed the door.

That was good.

She lied on the backseat, panting, and stared at the ceiling because it beat staring at the cracked windshield.

“You’re okay?” Gale asked, sounding worried.

“Yeah.” she lied.

“Any chance that killed her?” he insisted.

“Not unless it beheaded her.” she mumbled and then swallowed hard. “Thanks.”

“ _Please_. Any time you need me to run over a creepy vampire, I’m your guy.” And then he started laughing as if it was funny but it really wasn’t and, mostly, she thought it was laughing or screaming in terror. She could relate.

“I meant for following my lead.” she clarified when he was done laughing like an idiot.

“Sure.” he acknowledged, a little more soberly.

The car was going too fast still and she would have liked to lie there forever but she forced herself to grab the passenger headrest and haul herself to a sitting position. She didn’t have a good view from there but at least one of the headlights was dead and the windshield would need to be replaced.

On the bright side, it was still running.

That truck was sturdy.

“So…” Gale snorted. “You think Mellark is ever gonna let me borrow his car again or…”

She laughed.

She couldn’t help it.

Maybe it was exhaustion…

Or maybe she was a bit terrified too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... That went well. Except for peeta's poor truck XD What did you think? Let me know your thoughts!


	7. Chapter 7

Haymitch startled awake with a raging headache and a crick in the neck for having spent the night curled up in the armchair. He groaned, only remembering belatedly to be quiet so as to not disturb the two girls sleeping in his bed. Effie was dead to the world, Prim was twitching in her sleep. The girl had woken up several times during the night, he vaguely remembered, just like he vaguely remembered Katniss poking him in the arm to let him know she was back.

Without surprise, the nausea was still very much a thing.

But when he tried to stand up and walk to the bathroom, he was a little steadier on his feet than he had been the previous night and, while his head and his shoulder – his whole body really – throbbed, he didn’t feel _too_ sluggish or like he was about to keel over and die. His reflection in the mirror above the sink, on the other hand, did look like he was about to do just that.

He quickly used the bathroom, switched his sweaty clothes for clean ones and wandered out of the bedroom, not bothering with socks or slippers. Avoiding the creaking boards was instinct.

The door to the girls bedroom was open but he didn’t need to look to know it would be empty so he went straight to the guest room, not surprised to find Katniss sitting at the foot of Peeta’s bed, legs hugged close to her chest, in her fluffy looking flannel pajamas, wrapped in a matching green fleece dressing gown. Her hair was wet and pulled up in a bun at the top of her head.

She looked at him with tired eyes but all he could think about was that the pajamas were new and that, since she never bought new clothes for herself, either Prim had made use of the cash he had thrown at her to treat herself with something nice to buy something for Katniss instead or Effie had been hard at work. Effie was always trying to replace their Slayer’s tattered wardrobe by tossing things at her she pretended she was about to throw away so Katniss didn’t scream about pity or charity – which was stupid because they were in charge of her, now, they were _supposed_ to make sure she had proper clothes. And she needed more winter clothes probably. They were patrolling late and it was cold nowadays, he needed to make sure she wouldn’t catch pneumonia and he should really have thought about this before and…

Katniss was looking at him in a funny way, probably because he had been staring at her green flannel pajamas like he had never seen a pair before.

“You’ve slept yet?” he asked, gruff.

She shrugged. “Took a nap.”

That wasn’t good. Counting their trip to the hellish dimension, she had been up for…

“You’re gonna take at least five hours and sleep today.” he warned her. Then he let himself glance at the boy who looked pale, disheveled and, despite Katniss’ efforts, still dirty. “He woke up yet?”

She shook her head, her features turning into a scowl. “No. I asked Cinna when he came back and he said it was okay, that whatever mojo the Peacekeeper had used, it probably tired his body a lot…”

He nodded. “Look… Let’s give him until noon. If there’s still no change, we’ll get him to a hospital or call a doctor to check him over. That sounds good?”

She nodded but she didn’t uncurl. She looked young, exhausted and worried.

And he would have liked it better if she had blown her hair dry because it was chilly in the house and she would catch a cold.

“Why is Prim sleeping in your bed?” she asked.

He shrugged. “She was scared of having nightmares.”

Katniss rubbed her face. “I need to talk to her but I don’t know what to say. What she did…”

“What she did was stupid but she’s twelve so she’s bound to _fuck_ up sometimes.” he interrupted. “She’s grounded, obviously, but…” He shrugged again. “I think it’s lesson learned, sweetheart, so I say… Don’t be too hard on her. You thought about what I said about her? Sending her…”

“I don’t know, Haymitch.” Katniss whispered, pressing her face against her knees. “It feels like giving her up.”

It did.

And it hurt.

He rubbed his own face.

“We can talk about it later, when you’ve slept and I don’t feel like _shit_.” he granted. “Cinna’s back you said?”

“He didn’t find her.” she muttered, propping her chin on her knees to look at him. “He moved the…” She hesitated, clearly looking for the right words. “… _his girlfriend’s body_ to the basement ‘cause it’s cooler there. Apparently stasis spells only last so long. Since Prim was in yours, I told him to take my room.”

They would need to figure out who would sleep where because it was stupid to play musical beds when Effie’s house sat empty on the other side of the street. That could wait for him to find some aspirin, a coffee and probably a new dose of Cinna’s dirty socks potion to keep his body from collapsing like it really wanted to do.

“Effie woke up.” he told her.

Katniss lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t sound so happy about it.”

He made a face. “Sarcasm doesn’t suit you.” Then he made another face. “She told me something back in that castle and I _fucked_ it up. I ain’t sure she’s gonna be too happy to see me.”

He would never have admitted that much if he hadn’t felt so weak and rattled in body and soul. 

“Boys are stupid all the time, she’ll get it.” Katniss dismissed.

“Not everyone can be Peeta.” he mocked but without any edge to it. For a sixteen year-old teen, Peeta had pretty smooth moves, Haymitch had to admit.

“Exactly.” she retorted and then snorted. “You’re gonna have to apologize. But it’s Effie so you will have to make it special.”

He wasn’t sure how you were supposed to apologize for failing to answer a love declaration appropriately, anything short of an ‘ _I’m sorry, I love you too’_ wouldn’t cut it and…

 _It’s alright to lean on someone, to need them. To_ love _them. You were so good at loving. So good at loving_ me _._

He chased the fuzzy memory of his hallucination out of his mind.

“I’m gonna go hunt down some coffee.” he grumbled, stifling a yawn. “Maybe something to eat.”

He was still feeling like puking but his stomach had been empty so long it might be why he felt like his body was ready to pass out. 

“Gale’s sleeping on the couch.” she announced. He had half-turned toward the door when he stopped and turned back to look at her, eyebrows raised in questions. She rolled her eyes. “Peeta’s truck is busted, you’re gonna need to have it fixed. I didn’t want to let Gale drive back to the trailer park with it like that so we called his mom.” She paused and snorted. “Seems like she has the same rule you do about boys in the bedroom ‘cause she wasn’t happy with it. We told her he was actually having a sleepover with Peeta at Effie’s so… Chances are she’s gonna call you to check. Don’t mess it up.”

That was a lot of information and he chose to focus on the most relevant one. “Define _busted_.”

She fidgeted a little. “Cracked windshield. Some bumps. It was working just fine but it started doing a weird noise by the time we came home.”

He licked his lips. His headache was about to worsen, he could feel it.

She had poked him awake the previous night to tell him she was back, she hadn’t mentioned anything and he had stupidly assumed that meant she had followed his orders and simply had nothing to report.

When would he learn?

“How did you crack a windshield on a _surveillance_ mission?” he asked _oh so sweetly_.

She wasn’t fooled.

She scowled harder. “Gale had to run Enobaria over to stop her from getting me.” She paused and then shrugged. “I don’t think that killed her.”

It obviously wouldn’t have killed her.

Severed her spine if they were lucky, which would buy them a few days or a few weeks, but vampires healed fast so…

He pinched his nose, rubbed the painful spot between his eyes… “Anything I should know that can’t wait half an hour?” She hesitated and then shook her head. “Okay. Then, we’re having a group meeting in thirty minutes. Make sure Cinna knows.”

“It’s a school day.” she reminded him, sounding even more tired.

And so it was.

“I’ll shoot Heavensbee a text.” he grumbled.

At this point, his and Effie’s careers as teachers would come to a glorious end soon. Then again, with Snow free, it would be _war_ soon. They might not have time to pretend they were all living normal lives.

He wandered downstairs and made a beeline for the coffeemaker only to groan when he found a mug full of a yellow-brown liquid in front of it. There was a note stuck to the coffee maker in Cinna’s flowery script that said he had to drink the new dose and _not_ mix it with coffee.

He grumbled under his breath as he flicked the electric kettle on and then looked around for his phone. Plutarch’s answer was almost immediate. Classes were cancelled anyway, school was only open for people who wanted to see a counselor because of the _Capitol Slaughter_ , as the Reaping had apparently been labeled.

He downed the potion, gagged at the horrible taste but managed not to throw it back up.

He opened and closed cupboards, not quite sure what he was looking for until he realized… Liquor. He was looking for _liquor_.

Cinna had said the potions wouldn’t stop the cravings and he hadn’t lied.

Haymitch’s mouth was parched, his hands were shaking and there was this persistent thought in his mind that he would _die_ if he didn’t…

The kettle clicked, startling him. He poured the boiling water in a mug, added a random teabag from the pink tin box Effie had brought over and then decided it was time to suck it up.

He picked up his phone once more, scrolled through his contacts, took one deep breath and then called the Council.

Even without the time zone difference, they would have made him wait just to prove a point. Any other time, he might have hung up and waited for them to call him back. But it wasn’t any other time and he wasn’t really in a position to climb on his high horse so he waited while an operator handed him to another, mumbling on a stale piece of toast.

He considered it a success that he didn’t immediately throw it up.

Then he decided Katniss needed some food too because grilled lizards and burgers wouldn’t sustain a Slayer for long – and wasn’t the healthiest – and that Prim needed something more nutritional than chicken soup in her stomach. He saved what was left of the soup though, for when Effie woke up again. Or Peeta. Would the boy be able to handle solids right away or would he need to work up his appetite too?

By the time Coin finally picked up her phone, he had enough bacon, toasts and eggs to feed an army.

“ _Abernathy_.” The woman said, making the greeting sound reproachful.

There was no beating around the bush so he chose to cut to the chase. “Snow’s free.”

There was a very long pregnant pause on the other end of the line. “ _Talk_.”

He did. He shifted most of the blame on himself because there was no reason to incriminate Katniss’ or Effie’s decisions.

“ _Are you telling me we lost Effie Trinket?”_ she interrupted when he was at the part where the Hellmouth had sucked the other Watcher in – he carefully left Peeta out of the tale. The Council wasn’t aware Katniss wasn’t working alone as a proper Slayer ought to do. His journal would reflect the truth because he made a point _not_ to lie in his active Slayer diary but the Council would only get their hands on it when it would be too late to change anything.

“No.” he sighed. “We got her back.”

 _“You… got her back.”_ Coin hesitated, sounding incredulous. _“How?”_

He had hoped he wouldn’t have to tell her about that part. “Cinna opened a portal.”

 _“Did you let your Slayer hop through a portal to a hellish dimension when a Master vampire who almost managed to take over the United States roams free?”_ she snapped, her voice going freezing cold.

“Of course I didn’t _let_ her.” he scoffed, knowing he wasn’t helping his case. “I went with her.”

There was a long, long silence. _“Were you drunk?”_

“No.” he snapped. “I wasn’t about to leave her to her death.”

He wasn’t sure who he was even talking about: Effie or Katniss?

 _“A Watcher’s sacrifice is a tragic thing but we all know it is a possibility. I ordered Trinket to take charge weeks ago because I could sense you were going soft-hearted on that Slayer. It seems she was not the only one you went soft-hearted on.”_ Coin retorted. _“Put her on the phone.”_

Even though Coin couldn’t see him, he shook his head. “She’s in no state to talk to you. She’s recovering.”

 _“As soon as she’s recovered, I want her to call me. Do you understand?”_ the Head of the Council hissed. _“I should replace you. I should replace you_ both _right now.”_

He had sort of been expecting her to do just that. “So… You’re… _not_?”

 _“There are many young Watchers here eager to prove themselves and I have no doubt they would do better. There are many senior ones too still eager to get another Slayer. A rogue Slayer on the Hellmouth with Coriolanus Snow roaming free, though?”_ she spat. Yeah, he mused, not many people would take those odds. _“Unfortunately,_ you _are_ _the most experienced when it comes to this particular Hellmouth and to this particular vampire so you will remain at your post and you_ will _fix this, do you hear me? Trinket is another matter entirely. I thought she would keep you in line and offer tactical support. Clearly, I was mistaken. Have her call me. And kill that vampire, Abernathy, or so help me…”_

She hung up on him.

“Could have gone worse.” he muttered, carrying the plates of food to the library because it was the only table big enough to sit everyone. His hands were shaking so badly that he almost dropped everything twice and it took him a few trips to get everything on the table.

He was rummaging around the fridge to find Prim’s orange juice when he felt the presence at his back and startled, bringing a hand to his chest to calm his racing heart with a curse.

“ _Shit_ , Cinna.” he scoffed. “Wear a bell around your neck.”

The warlock looked grumpy – which might be explained either by the fact his girlfriend was dead or a magic hangover. “Madge just passed the boundaries. I am going to Effie’s. I won’t be long.”

He didn’t have time to ask what had happened with his search because Cinna disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He rolled his eyes. That was annoying.

He grabbed the orange juice and carried it to the library only to go back on his steps and open the front door when he heard the tentative knocking.

“Shouldn’t you still be at the hospital, sweetheart?” he asked, stepping aside to let Madge in.

She had some colors back in her cheeks but Madge still looked pale and tired. She had bags under her eyes but, then again, so did them all. Her blond hair was tied into a low messy ponytail and he suspected the yoga pants poking from under her coat were more pajamas outfit than outwear. She was also carrying a pink box with _Mellark’s Bakery_ logo on it.

“They let me out early this morning.” she explained. “I’m supposed to rest but Dad had to go back to work and Mom took a sleeping pill so I sneaked out through the window. As long as I’m back by noon, it should be fine.” She talked quickly, with a nervous sort of excitement. “I guess I’m also missing school so you might have to cover for me. I’ve _never_ broken that many rules.”

“School’s out today.” he told her, propping the lid of the box open. _Donuts_. He liked that girl. He stole a chocolate one.

“Oh, good…” Madge wrinkled her nose. “Dad was _furious_ about me skipping, not as furious as finding me injured at a murder scene though… I told him I was meeting my boyfriend, like you said…” She was talking fast and he wondered if that was the blood loss or if they had given her some pain meds at the hospital because she wasn’t usually that keyed up. Her face brightened suddenly as her blue eyes found something behind him – or rather _someone,_ because when he turned Hawthorne was leaning against the threshold, rubbing sleep out of his eyes with one hand and tugging his shirt lower with the other. “That’s you by the way!” she exclaimed. “My boyfriend. I _had_ to give him a name so… You know, if you two ever meet, play along. He’s angry you had me skipping school but he’s also impressed because all the rescued kids told the police about you and how you helped…”

 _Typical_ , Haymitch mused. Katniss had risked her very life going into the fray and Hawthorne who had shot a few arrows from the safety of a truck roof would get the laurels.

Hawthorne didn’t look entirely awake but he smiled at the girl pleasantly enough. “You’re okay?”

Madge trudged closer to him, having apparently forgotten that Haymitch was still there.

Yeah, he decided, there were _definitely_ meds involved because he had never seen the kid with a loopy smile on her lips. Good thing she hadn’t driven there.

“I’m better.” she told the boy. “And you? How are your ribs?”

He groaned. “Sore. But that’s because of last night’s fight.”

 _Ah_ , Haymitch thought, munching on his donuts, so there _had_ been a fight. He should never have left Katniss go by herself.

“You went out to fight again?” Madge almost gasped, sounding worried. She reached for the boy’s ribs – something Haymitch was very sure she wouldn’t have done if she had been in her right mind.

Hawthorne puffed like a peacock, a suffering expression on his face. “Someone had to go help Katniss…”

Madge took another step closer and Haymitch wondered at which point he would need to loudly acknowledge the drug thing because he wasn’t letting that boy take advantage of…

“Madge!” Katniss exclaimed from the top of the stairs, clearly happy to see her friend.

Hawthorne hastily stepped back with a panicked expression and Madge’s hand fell in the space between them.

Haymitch rolled his eyes and retreated to the library.

Teenage drama. So unnecessarily complicated.

He dropped on one of the chairs and told himself he didn’t _need_ a drink, that he could do this even if the terror was mind-numbing.

The three teenagers were chatting on their way in but they all froze and went dead silent when they caught sight of the table.

Yeah, Haymitch thought, maybe he had gone overboard.

He had pushed all the books to one side and the table was now covered with plates full of bacon, eggs and toasts… And the box of donuts.

“Don’t stand there and stare and don’t tell me you’re not _fucking_ hungry.” he grumbled. “ Sit down and eat.”

Miraculously, they did so without complaining. When she finally appeared on the threshold, still in her pajamas like her sister, Prim paused too but then she shrugged and rolled with it, filling a plate for herself before taking her usual chair next to Katniss.

Katniss avoided the girl’s eyes.

“Oh… I forgot…” Madge said, still with that same excited edge in her voice. “After everything yesterday… Peeta’s dad was trying to reach him but his phone is off.”

His phone wasn’t off.

His phone was likely somewhere in that hellish dimension.

With Effie’s.

With a long-suffering sigh, he grabbed a pen and a piece of paper because, his head being what it currently was, he would need a list. 

_Getting new phones_ went right under _Getting Peeta’s truck fixed_.

And that went right under _Kill Snow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Haymitch the best dad or what? Sorry I digressed. So... Aside from the fact Katniss needs more clothes and Madge should stay off pain meds... What did we learn today? I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts!


	8. Chapter 8

Haymitch didn’t touch the food but he looked happy enough about them devouring the heap that Katniss let it go. She was starving and she wolfed down her breakfast until there was nothing left on her plate, stealing glances at her Watcher when she could get away with it. 

Cinna had placed another mug full of potion in front of him and the two men had glared at each other until Haymitch had started drinking it. He made a face every time he took a sip but he also had more colors in his cheeks – _rosy_ color, not _yellow_ – and he looked less like he was about to keel over. She wasn’t sure how helpful it was with the withdrawal symptoms but at least it kept him functional and that was how they needed him right then.

Eventually, though, everyone was done eating and the silence became oppressive, as if nobody wanted to be the first to break it, to acknowledge how epically they had failed the previous day.

“Okay.” Haymitch grumbled, finishing the last of his potion. “Let’s roll. Who wants to start?”

Nobody spoke.

On her left, Prim let out a small sigh. “Peeta would say something funny to start the reunion, to break the tension.”

“Yes.” Madge immediately nodded. “He would know what to say to make the whole thing lighter.”

Katniss and Haymitch exchanged a look, on the same page on this: they weren’t sure what exactly could make light of the fact they had failed to stop a Master vampire from escaping his hell prison.

“Avengers Assemble.” Prim said suddenly, a little too loud maybe. Then she glanced up and Katniss couldn’t take it anymore.

“He’s not dead, he’s just _sleeping_.” she snapped. “He’s gonna be _fine_. No need to act like he’s gone.”

Her sister flinched. “I know, I just… I miss him. And Effie.”

“They’re both gonna be on their feet before you know it.” Haymitch cut in, his voice softer like always when he addressed her sister. He shot Katniss a warning look. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms but didn’t add anything.

She was angry, that was the thing.

The more she let herself think about the previous day, the angrier she was with Prim. And that was a new uncomfortable feeling. She couldn’t remember _ever_ being angry with her. She had assumed the role of caretaker a long time ago but Prim had made that _easy_ ; _hell,_ she always said the girl was smarter and wiser than she was by far… She didn’t even know when she had been forced to _scold_ her for the last time and now…

“Alright, _Avengers Assemble_ or whatever.” Haymitch muttered, humoring Prim and Madge – Madge was clearly under the influence of some sort of pain medication, Katniss had decided, because she was much more cheerful than usual and given the situation… “Now, who wants to start?”

“I believe Elindra may have fled town.” Cinna announced. He had been very quiet so far, Katniss might have forgotten he was there at all if he hadn’t felt so… Not _threatening_ but… _Yeah_. He made her Slayer instinct react. Maybe because of that wrath he wasn’t exactly doing a good job at suppressing despite the calm attitude. “I searched for her _everywhere_. Either she hid herself very well or she left. She knows me too well not to know I will come after her and that it won’t be pretty when I _do_ find her so…” He shook his head. “Once we are sure Peeta has recovered and Effie is back on her feet, I will take Portia back to Italy to lay her to rest. Then, I will hunt Elindra down properly.”

Haymitch looked as shocked and disbelieving as Katniss felt. That really wasn’t what they had been expecting.

“You’re leaving us?” Katniss scoffed.

“I will come back.” the warlock promised. “If experience serves… Your final fight with Snow won’t be happening tomorrow.”

Because this was a marathon and not a race or whatever…

Still, this wasn’t good news.

She looked at Haymitch. Without Effie and Cinna, they would be left without any magical protection at all and… As ambivalent as she was about magic, she could see the advantages. “What about the wards on the Village? If you leave…”

“I will teach Haymitch how to cast one similar to Effie’s.” Cinna countered. “Or maybe Peeta if he feels up to it.”

“I don’t have that kind of mojo and neither does the boy.” Haymitch protested. “Can ward _the house,_ maybe, but the Village… That’s gonna take Effie.”

“I will think of something.” Cinna promised. “You understand…”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Haymitch nodded. “Bury your girl, do what you have to do… Just keep your phone on, this time. Cause I’m gonna need you to ride in to the rescue at some point.”

_Katniss_ didn’t understand.

And given the glances they were exchanging, neither did Gale, Madge or Prim.

The matter seemed to be settled, though, because Haymitch turned his attention to her. “Should tell you, full disclosure, the Council ain’t happy with me but they’re not giving you a new Watcher yet, though Effie’s been supposed to supervise for a few weeks so…”

She shrugged. “I don’t care about the Council.”

“Why can’t they send more people?” Gale asked, cutting in. “More fighters?”

Haymitch’s grey eyes darted to him and, for a second, she thought he would dismiss his question but he must have thought it was a valid one because he scowled. “That’s not how they work. The Slayer handles that side of the business. _I_ shouldn’t even be fighting if I followed the book… Watchers watch, Slayers slay.” He shook his head. “And they’ve _never_ sent anyone anyway. After my mom… My mom’s Watcher stayed and tried to do her best but that was _her_ choice. The Council didn’t do anything until…” His voice faltered for a second but he cleared his throat. “Until Mabel Larson was Called. And when _she_ died… When I left and Mags returned to England…” He shrugged. “Nobody did anything until Maysilee became the Slayer and they sent me back here. Snow kills Slayers and they’re not about to sacrifice them all one after the other for this town or even this state. And if _Slayers_ don’t stand a chance, they’re not about to send operatives either. Freelance demon hunters are a possibility but, _officially_ , the Council don’t hire them.”

Katniss wasn’t sure Gale followed everything but he seemed to accept the answer albeit not happily.

“This Council seems like it sucks balls.” he commented.

Haymitch snorted. “Might be the first time I agree with you, boy.” His amusement was fleeting, his eyes turned to Katniss again. “So? Last night? How did you manage to bust Peeta’s truck, sweetheart?”

She summed up the patrol for him, giving him as many details as she could remember. Gale chimed in once or twice but, for the most part, it was her facing Haymitch’s increasing annoyance when she told him she had broken into the hotel. He did frown when she told him about the hypnotized staff though.

“You think that Enobaria has enough game to keep a whole hotel under her thrall?” he asked Cinna. 

Cinna made a non-committing face. “She was sired by Snow, it is possible. But… So many people under a thrall at the same time?”

“Yeah.” Haymitch sighed. “It does bring back memories.” At their questioning looks, he waved his hand. “That’s how Snow used to do it back in the days but if he’s strong enough to do _that_ , we might have to reevaluate just how weak this Peacekeeper demon made him… Go on, sweetheart. We didn’t get to how you busted the car yet.”

She told him about their meeting with Enobaria and then shrugged. “It was weird though. If she had wanted to kill me, she could have… She said something about Snow rewarding her… I think she wanted to take me alive.”

Haymitch froze.

“Oh…” he said, his face opening with understanding. “Oh, _shit_.” He scowled. “You’re not going anywhere near the Hellmouth or the Capitol again, you hear me? You’re not going near Snow. You’re not engaging Enobaria or Gloss. You’re _fucking_ staying away from them until we can figure this mess out…”

“What?” She frowned. “Why? It’s…”

“Cause he wants _your blood_.” He shook his head. “Look, last night I had some kind of… vision?”

He sounded unsure himself and it wasn’t surprising Gale snorted.

“You mean _hallucination_?” the boy openly mocked.

Haymitch glared. “Could be. Either way, whatever she was, she was right. If Snow’s weakened enough… There’s one thing that’s gonna fix him right up.”

“Slayer’s blood.” Cinna added, with voice deepening with sudden understanding. “Oh, yes… That makes sense.”

Her frown deepened. “Gloss already mentioned that during the Reaping… What’s…”

“Slayer’s blood is different from regular blood.” Haymitch cut her off before she could finish the question. “It makes vampires stronger, it… It’s _powerful_. And the last thing we want is risk giving Snow a taste so I say you’re not going _anywhere_ near that hotel until we have a real plan of attack in place.” He rubbed his face. “I have old blueprints somewhere but I ain’t sure how accurate the sewer parts are gonna be now…”

“I can find blueprints at the townhall.” Madge offered. “I worked there last summer. I know where everything is and I’ve got access codes for the computers. I can get in and print what you need. It might take me a few trips to sneak everything out, never mind now that I’m on house arrest, but…”

“That’d be great.” He nodded. “It’s not _tomorrow_ _urgent_ but the sooner the better. I want a clear picture of what we’re dealing with.” Madge readily agreed and Haymitch stared at the table, absentmindedly drumming his fingers on the wood. “I’ve never been to the basement myself. It’s described in Mags’ journals but…” He made an irritated noise. “I’m gonna have to call her.”

“So what’s the game plan for now?” Katniss asked when it became clear he wouldn’t say anything else.

“We stall.” he declared. “We counter whatever schemes they’re gonna try to pull to take control of the Seam, there are gonna be territory wars with other demons, but we don’t confront them if we can help it. Not until we’re sure we can win. Cause if Snow’s really weak and he gets a hold of you… A weakened Snow’s already gonna be a ride, I don’t want to face him at full power if I don’t have to.” She didn’t like it but she reluctantly nodded her agreement. “Get some _proper_ rest. We’re going on patrol tonight.” 

It was a tacit end to the briefing that she took at face value, eager to go back to Peeta’s bedside.

She was halfway out of her chair – and so were Haymitch and Madge – when Gale scoffed, incredulous.

“So, that’s it?” he challenged. “That’s your big plan? _Do nothing_. Those people at the hotel, we just let them die? You don’t care?”

“I don’t care?” Haymitch snarled, gripping the edge of the table. “You think it ain’t making me _sick_ to leave those people to their fate?”

“Doesn’t seem like it.” the boy retorted.

“Gale.” she snapped, annoyed.

“Okay.” Haymitch snorted, sitting back down. Katniss and Madge looked at each other but took that as their cue and dropped back on their chairs too. “You’ve got the facts in hand, boy. You tell me how we should play this out. Come on.”

Gale didn’t look so smug now but he still jutted his chin up a little. “We _do_ something. We storm that place or…”

“Fine. We storm the place.” Haymitch humored him with a grim smirk. “Effie and Peeta are out. I ain’t taking those girls with us. That leaves the four of us. Cinna and Katniss are gonna level out the playing field so I’m thinking the two of us are outnumbered three to one, the two of them two to one. Sounds right, Cinna?” The warlock made a hum of agreement. “Tell me what happens next with those odds, Hawthorne. Tell me.”

Gale really didn’t want to tell him, Katniss could see it.

“If we attack during the day…” he argued.

“Doesn’t matter.” Haymitch dismissed. “Didn’t happen to notice curtains during your sneaking around, did you? Or maybe the fact that the corridors inside _don’t_ have windows? You think there won’t be vampires up there on watch, think again. And that doesn’t tell us how to bust out the humans they’re keeping down in the basement, cause I _guarantee_ there are some people downstairs. We attack. What happens?”

Reluctantly, Gale crossed his arms in front of his chest. “We die.”

It cost him to admit it, clearly.

Katniss didn’t feel any sympathy, he had brought it on himself. She was surprised Haymitch was humoring him that much.

“We die.” The Watcher waved his hand in invitation to continue. “Then _what_? I’ve given you all the facts, put them together.”

For a moment, she thought Gale would storm out but he held his ground, letting a small sigh of resignation. “Snow gets Katniss, drinks her blood and becomes powerful.”

“ _And_?” Haymitch insisted. 

“And those Council assholes won’t send anyone unless another Slayer is Called in the Seam so, basically, everyone’s screwed.” he muttered.

“There will be Effie, Peeta, Madge and I left, though. On the bright side.” Prim chimed in, trying to make it sound like a joke.

“Sure.” Haymitch’s annoyed attention shifted to Katniss’ sister. “First thing Effie’s gonna do is send you to England.” He glanced at Katniss but she made a face and he didn’t press _that_ particular issue for now. She wanted to think about it more. “After that, without her powers, Effie can probably protect the town for a week. Maybe a little longer if she plays it smart. Let’s say best case scenario she can hold for a month, then _she_ gets killed and _shit_ really hits the fan.”

He studied Gale for a long moment. Gale stared back.

Neither of them seemed willing to look away first.

Katniss looked at her sister, looked at Madge, saw Cinna’s amused smile and rolled her eyes. 

Boys and their posturing…

“Are we done?” she asked impatiently.

“We’re done.” Haymitch confirmed, still staring at Gale.

She hoped he got a lot of satisfaction out of winning that staring contest when the boy finally looked away. Not that it was the end of it because, when everyone started filing out of the library, Haymitch grabbed Gale’s arm.

“You get why you can’t ride to those people’s rescue, yeah?” he insisted. “I get the urge, boy, I _really_ do. I’d have been the same at your age but you’ve _got_ to understand… With us, it’s stupid. Alone, it’s suicidal.”

Gale pursed his lips and shrugged him off but his tone was grim. “I get it. I won’t do anything stupid and I won’t do anything that’s gonna get Katniss killed either.”

Once she was sure there would be no bloodshed between them, she scampered upstairs again. Madge had to go anyway and Gale had offered to walk her back, she didn’t ask Prim what she was going to do with her day but her sister showed up on the guest room’s threshold not long after she had taken back her perch at the foot of Peeta’s bed.

Peeta was still deeply asleep but his fingers twitched sometimes as if he was dreaming… Surely that was better than the complete unconsciousness he had displayed so far?

“Can we talk?” Prim hesitated.

She could never say no to her sister and she _really_ couldn’t say no when Prim’s eyes were all misty with unshed tears. “Sure.”

It wasn’t exactly inviting but Prim stepped inside all the same, awkwardly standing on the old maroon bedside rug. She was pulling on her fingers, like always when she was nervous. “Katniss, I’m _really_ sorry.”

“I know.” she acknowledged because Prim wasn’t one to break rules or lie and she couldn’t imagine she was feeling really good about watching her classmates and friends getting slaughtered. “I just don’t get why you did something so stupid when you _knew_ it was dangerous.”

Prim flinched but didn’t try to find excuses for herself. “I just… You kept dismissing me like I didn’t matter, all of you. I know you were just trying to protect me but I wanted… I don’t know… It _was_ stupid.”

There wasn’t much more to say on that subject, was there? She pursed her lips, picked a loose thread from her fleece dressing gown… “You’re grounded.”

“Haymitch told me.” She nodded, staring at her with her big blue pleading eyes. “He forgave me even if I don’t deserve it. Do you? Please, I’m _so_ sorry, I…”

“Of course, I forgive you.” she cut her off but it was a bit snippy. She suspected it would take her a while to get over the anger because the anger stemmed from the panic she had felt when she had realized her sister was in mortal danger. “But you can’t _ever_ do something like that again.”

Prim shook her head, her shoulders slumping in relief. “Never again. _Never_. I _promise_.”

“Alright.” Katniss sighed, standing up so she could hug her. It seemed it was all Prim wanted because she clung to her hard. She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek on the top of her head, wishing she was still younger because a younger Prim had been easier to handle. Teenager Prim? That would take some getting used to. “You really had me worried, little duck.”

“I’m _sorry_.” her sister repeated, her voice breaking a little.

Being sorry didn’t make it all okay but, she supposed, it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avengers Assemble! Will Gale listen to Haymitch? Will Prim and Kat's relationship recover? Will Peeta wake up soon? Will I survive lockdown without a panic attack a day? So many questions, so few answers. Let me know your thoughts!


	9. Chapter 9

Katniss opened her eyes with a start, body tense and ready for a fight.

She ached from all the fighting in the last few days but it was a distant sort of discomfort that she was sure she would have felt a lot more without her accelerated Slayer’s healing. She was curled up at the foot of Peeta’s bed, still in her pajamas, burrowed in the fleece dressing-gown Effie had forced her to buy. She didn’t remember falling asleep and she wasn’t sure what had woken her up.

Until her grey eyes fell on the boy huddled against the headboard.

She scrambled to sit and he recoiled in a clicking of chains. His gaze was tracking her every move, a little clouded.

“Peeta?” she called in a soft voice, hope making her heart clench. She had been asleep and at his mercy, chains or not, if he had still wanted to kill her…

He watched her a moment longer and then tilted his head to the side, a small frown on his face. “Katniss.”

“Yes.” She laughed. She laughed in relief and didn’t realize it was a broken laugh until she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. She reached for him but he jerked back again, hitting the headboard. _Hard_. “Peeta…”

His frown turned into a hardened expression that didn’t belong on his face. “I know you.”

“Yes.” Her tone was begging but she didn’t care. If she had to beg him to remember her, she would. She reached for his hand again, more slowly. “Yes, you do.”

He snatched his hand back before she could make contact. “I want to kill you.”

“No.” She shook her head. “No, that’s a lie. That’s something that was put in your mind.”

He frowned again, licked his lips, his eyes never looking away from her… “I want to kiss you.”

“That’s more like it, boy.” Haymitch snorted from the threshold. Katniss’s head turned fast, alarmed as she hadn’t heard him approach. Cinna was right behind him. The Watcher shot her a long look but stepped aside to let the warlock pass.

“Peeta?” Cinna sat down on the bed, ignoring the way the boy drew back away from him. “Do you remember who you are?”

It took a long long time for Peeta’s blue eyes to leave Katniss to travel to the warlock.

“I don’t like you.” he said.

Cinna’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Haymitch and Katniss exchanged a glance, that was not something he would usually say or, at the very least, not like that.

“I suppose you wouldn’t.” the warlock acknowledged. “I hurt your mentor.”

Peeta stared at him long and hard. “Effie.” The name slipped past his lips, hesitant at first and then more urgent. “ _Effie_. Effie!”

“ _Easy_. Easy, kid.” Haymitch coaxed, stepping in the room with both hands up in an appeasing gesture. “She’s here. She’s fine. For the most part.” He added the last sentence with hesitation. “She’s resting. I promise she’s safe.” Peeta’s stare was unblinking and unnerving and Haymitch must have felt the weight of it because he shifted awkwardly on his feet. “You had us worried, boy.”

Finally, Peeta blinked a few times in rapid succession, his face going from set to confused to set again. “Haymitch.”

“Yeah.” Haymitch smirked. “Yeah… Take it easy, alright? Someone scrambled your mind bad.”

“So, you remember who you are.” Cinna said gently, bringing them all back on track. “Are you in control of yourself? Can we take the chains off?”

Peeta looked down at the manacles on his wrists and drew his hands back toward his chest even if nobody had tried to reach for them. He was shaking his head. “I want to kill Katniss. I want to kill Katniss. I want to kill Katniss.”

“Yeah, I get that urge on a daily basis.” Haymitch joked, cutting off the muttered litany. “Thing is… Do you want to kill her or do you _remember_ wanting to kill her? Cause that’s not the same thing, kid.”

Peeta was rocking on himself and Katniss couldn’t help it, she laid a comforting hand on his arm. He went rigid and stared at her fingers on his forearm as if he wasn’t sure he didn’t want to bite them off.

Then, slowly, he looked up at Cinna who was the closest. “Don’t take them off. _Don’t_.” He shook his head.

“Alright.” the warlock agreed easily. “We will leave them on until you feel a little more confident you won’t hurt anyone, shall we? They do not hurt, do they?”

Peeta shook his head again but Katniss wasn’t sure he was telling the truth. She squeezed his arm, careful not to hurt him with her strength, and he closed his eyes hard. He hugged his legs close to his chest, buried his face in his knees.

“Katniss.” he whispered. “ _Katniss. Katniss. Katniss. Katniss_.”

She looked up at Haymitch, startled by the way he was repeating her name again and again…

“He’s still confused.” Her Watcher made a face. “He hasn’t attacked us. That’s good.”

“How is _this_ good?” she hissed, nodding at the boy with her chin. “He’s… He’s…”

“He’s recovering from deeply invasive mind control magic.” Cinna cut in, squeezing her shoulder. “He is doing alright considering the circumstances. He will get better.”

She shot a look at Haymitch who mustered something that was probably supposed to be an encouraging smile. He didn’t look so well himself but the potions were doing their work and he seemed to be clear-headed enough. He was standing a little straighter too.

Katniss wished people she loved would stop being sick or hurt. It was… She didn’t like it.

“Stay with him.” Haymitch unnecessarily suggested, signaling to Cinna they should go.

“How’s Effie doing?” she asked before they could leave.

Peeta stopped muttering her name and the sudden silence was chilling. As was his sudden immobility.

Clearly _Effie_ ’s name carried some power over him…

She tried not to feel jealous that the witch’s name seemed to get him when hers was making him act unpredictably.

“She hasn’t woken up again.” Haymitch grumbled, rubbing his face. “She’s moving in her sleep though. No fever, nothing worrying. Prim’s with her.” Katniss nodded but let out a small sigh. She wanted everyone to be _fine_ , not just _okay_ but _fine_. “I think a short patrol tonight, sweetheart. We ain’t in any state to do much.”

She wanted to protest but… He had a point. He wasn’t in any real shape to fight although she knew he would insist on coming along, Gale would probably show up before dark too and she wasn’t really happy to bring him with her because chances were he wouldn’t listen to her orders, and… She supposed she could go by herself but the last few days _were_ taking their toll, Slayer or not, and she felt…

She didn’t really feel up to staying up all night to kick some demon or vampire’s ass.

Her body hurt, she was going on too little sleep and she was just… She was _tired_ , _down to her bones_ tired.

“Okay.” she agreed, glancing at the clock. Sunset would be there before she knew it, she had slept longer than she had meant. “You’re coming, Cinna?”

She wasn’t sure about bringing the warlock on patrol but it might be good to have some magical support. And if Cinna was coming, she might just leave Gale behind to guard the house. That would solve a few problems…

“I will look for Elindra again. Just in case.” Cinna denied, his dark eyes flashed with something dangerous and Katniss stopped asking questions.

It wouldn’t be pretty when he would get his hands on Effie’s mom.

The two men left, Haymitch shooting a last worried look at Peeta, and she stared at the fingers still coiled around the boy’s forearm.

“Peeta…” she whispered, hoping it wouldn’t spook him again or send him in a litany of her name.

He shook his head and she fell silent, her heart breaking a little.

She didn’t let go though.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat like that, holding on to him while he remained curled in a tight ball.

Long enough that the light spilling through the window started dwindling and she heard the front door opening and closing, followed by Gale’s low tone. It seemed he wasn’t bothering with knocking anymore.

Slowly, she took her hand back and went to stand up, surprised to feel her body vehemently protest at the change in position. She must have been more tense than she had thought.

She needed to get dressed for patrol and…

Peeta’s hand shot out, chains clicking.

His grip was tight and almost painful but she didn’t try to shrug his fingers off her wrist.

“Don’t go.” he begged. “Don’t go. Don’t go. Don’t go.”

She opened her mouth to tell him she _had_ to and then closed it because… _Did_ she have to? What would that accomplish? They had already established they couldn’t take the fight to Snow or the Careers, that doing so would not only be potentially suicidal but also give them exactly what they wanted. What change would it make if she went on patrol or not?

She would kill a few vampires. A few drops in an ocean.

_And save a few people_ , a little voice at the back of her head reminded her, _the ones she could_.

And that was enough of a reason.

Even if she wanted nothing else than to stay right there and make sure Peeta was alright and safe.

“I will be back.” she promised. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?” They should have thought about that _before_. He hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in… She wasn’t sure how long. “Prim made chicken soup yesterday, there’s some left.”

She wasn’t sure he understood everything because he stared at her as if he was trying to make sense of all the words.

“Why…” He shook his head, tapped his forehead… “Why don’t I hear you here? You’re not _here_.”

It took her a moment to get what he was trying to tell her. Had he become so used to telepathy that he forgot they were not, in fact, telepaths? Was it all more serious than Haymitch and Cinna thought?

“That was magic, Peeta.” she explained. “Bad magic. They hurt you.”

He frowned, his grip tightening a little more around his wrist. “Effie.”

“Effie is fine.” she promised even if that might potentially turn out to be a lie.

“No.” Peeta groaned, giving her arm a small shake and tapping his forehead again with his free hand. “ _Effie_.”

She frowned. “You… hear Effie? In your mind?”

Was the witch trying to communicate?

He shook his head. “No Effie. Not anymore.”

“ _Oh_.” She understood suddenly. “She was talking to you all that time? Like she did to Haymitch when we attacked the castle?”

“Murmurs.” Peeta nodded. “She said I’m not alone. She sent… I felt… _Loved_.”

Katniss swallowed hard. “She _does_ love you. And you’re not alone, Peeta, even if you can’t hear her anymore. We’re together now. And _I_ … I…”

“Catnip?” Gale’s voice interrupted her, barely preceding a careless knock on the open door, prompting a growl from Peeta. “Abernathy says he’s ready to go when you are. Oh, you’re awake…” Gale buried his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. “Good to see you’re okay. And… _Thanks_. For my brother.” Peeta stared at him, tense and unsure. There was no real recollection on his face. Gale frowned. “You’re okay, Mellark?”

The other boy glanced at Katniss for an explanation and she shook her head. “He will be fine. He just needs to rest a little more. Right, Peeta?”

Peeta didn’t look convinced and he seemed to realize she was about to try and stand up again because he wrapped his other hand around her forearm to better hold her back. “Stay.”

It broke her heart.

“I will be back. I _promise_.” she whispered. “Prim and Gale are gonna stay with you while I’m gone. Look… Eat something and sleep a little more and I’ll be right back before you know it.”

That was a trick she used to do with Prim when she went out for food and had to leave her baby sister alone. Distract her with something else.

Slowly, Peeta nodded.

Even more slowly, he let go of her.

Stepping out of that room was the hardest thing she had ever done.

“What do you mean I’m staying with him?” Gale scoffed, as soon as she had closed the door. “Like _hell_. I’m coming with you.”

“Someone needs to stay and make sure Prim, Effie and Peeta are safe.” she argued.

“Abernathy…” he started.

“Haymitch is coming with me.” she cut him off. “He’s better.”

“He’s better?” he mocked. “He’s a drunk who needs his next fix. All the magic hocus pocus in the world won’t change _that_.”

She pursed her lips in a tight irritated line. “Either you stay here and make sure everyone’s safe or you go home. Your choice.”

She stormed to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. She was a little relieved he didn’t try to follow her in but she was quick in slipping jeans and a sweater on all the same. Her hair had dried in the messy bun on her head and it was tangled beyond measure. She didn’t have time to sort that out now so she just tied it back up again. She glimpsed herself in the mirror before she left the room and she wasn’t impressed with what she saw.

She was pale, there were dark bags under her eyes and she didn’t look at all like the fierce Slayer she was supposed to be.

Clearly, Gale had taken his complaining to Haymitch because there was a new tension in the kitchen. Cinna was already gone but Gale and Haymitch were glaring at each other from either side of the table and Prim was stirring something in a pot – more soup, she figured. She ignored everyone, helped herself to a leftover donut and finally turned to her sister.

“Can you get Peeta some of that soup to eat, please, little duck?” she asked. “But be careful and don’t go too close to him, alright?”

She didn’t think Peeta would attack Prim for the good reason that he hadn’t attacked _her_ even though he claimed he wanted to kill her – or kiss her – but, still, there was no point being reckless about it.

“Can I sit with him?” Prim asked.

“As long as you keep your distance, sure.” Katniss nodded. “He’s not totally himself yet, though.”

Prim nodded her understanding and she turned toward Haymitch, studying him. He didn’t look good but he didn’t look as bad as he had the previous day and he certainly looked better than he had when they had been in that hell dimension so… She decided he was up to the task of dispatching a few vampires and that she would be there to make sure he was alright if it turned out he wasn’t. If anything, he could play bait.

“Ready?” she challenged.

“Ready.” he confirmed. “I say we go on foot. Make our way to _Ripper’s_ through the cemetery and back by cutting through the woods.”

“Sounds good.” she agreed. That should allow them to check vampires’ favorite hunting grounds.

“Katniss.” Gale snapped. “You’re…”

“Either you stay here and watch the house…” she repeated, enunciating every word clearly. “Or you go home.”

Her friend growled in annoyance. “You’re gonna need…”

“I need someone here.” she cut him off. “Can you follow instructions or not?”

She was half-expecting him to storm out, which meant Haymitch would have to stay behind, but he gave a grim nod. “It’s a mistake. He’s going to _fuck_ up and put you in danger.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Haymitch snorted. “ _Ain’t_ like I’ve been doing this my whole life.”

Katniss chose to not answer either comment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peeta is AWAKE! Is he alright? How are we feeling about Effie exhausting herself all along to make sure he knew he was loved even when he was brainwashed? Is Haymitch actually going to get Katniss in danger? I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts!
> 
> (also a short word of update: I feel muuuch better than last week anxiety wise, thank you for bearing with me. I just wanted to let you know however that for now I plan on going back to the once a week update for HADS (on Wednesdays) because I find it difficult to juggle work, anxiety and updating every two days. It takes time away from writing because my time is cut short since lockdown changed my routine. I will probably go back to twice a week soon but for now I will keep it on Wednesdays. Thanks!)


	10. Chapter 10

Haymitch did _not_ , in fact, fuck up or put her in danger but he looked so wretched by the time they hit _Ripper’s_ that Katniss was considering sending him home. It occurred to her that bringing a recovering alcoholic battling through withdrawals – magic potions notwithstanding – to a bar was not the smartest play but, aside for staring at the bottles behind the counter with longing, Haymitch didn’t betray anything.

The trip to _Ripper’s_ was a bust though. The half-demon already knew Snow was free because, apparently, _everybody_ knew. Those who hadn’t _sensed_ it had learned it through the grapevine and, according to Ripper, a lot of demons and vampires were packing up and leaving town. She also asked them not to come back again because she didn’t want to give Snow the wrong impression about her business.

Katniss broke three bar stools for that comment alone.

There was a storm looming, the night sky had turned even darker and cloudy while they had been in the bar and she groaned, already knowing they wouldn’t make it back home dry. They did a quick tour through the shadiest back alleys, dispatched a few fledglings, and headed home just as the thunder started to rumble in the distance.

She kept expecting a Career to jump on them from between two trees but the woods were quiet and they made it to the Village in one piece.

“When you say it’s gonna be a marathon…” she asked as they passed the rusty gates. The magic slammed down on her shoulders and she shrugged it off with annoyance, lamenting once more that they had been forced to exchange Effie’s for Cinna’s.

“I mean it.” he sighed. “Problem is it ain’t as simple as just finding Snow and staking him. He’s smarter than that. And even if by some miracle we can corner him…”

He didn’t finish that thought but she heard the doubts in his voice all the same. He wasn’t sure she could do the job.

The sky tore open right as they were reaching their driveway and they hurried to the front door. The house was quiet but the lights were on and Gale met them in the hallway, clearly having been pacing while waiting for them.

“Prim’s asleep.” he reported. “Mellark too. Trinket woke up for ten minutes, we fed her some soup and she dropped again. She talked but she wasn’t making much sense.” He shook his head. “Couldn’t get much out of Mellark either.”

“Nobody asked you to get much out of either of them.” Haymitch grumbled, making no move to take off his damp jacket. He reached for the helmet abandoned on the side table instead. “Come on, I’m driving you back.”

Katniss froze, her leather jacket half off. “You’re sure that’s a good idea?”

He looked okay and he had held his own against two vampires that night but there was a difference between going on patrol while she was there to make sure he wouldn’t get hurt and riding a bike during a storm. Besides, that meant he would be alone and vulnerable… A bike wasn’t a car…

“Not like we have a choice now that you busted the boy’s truck, do we?” he scoffed. “Haven’t had a chance to take a look at Effie’s car yet.”

Gale wasn’t enthusiastic about getting a ride and he tried to refuse but Haymitch wouldn’t let him go home by himself in the dark and they couldn’t keep him another night without his mother asking questions. Katniss watched the two of them leave with anxiety.

She busied herself by taking a shower, changing into pajamas, checking on everyone else – they were all asleep as promised – eating some warmed up leftovers… The storm was growing bad and Cinna showed back up, drenched, long before she heard the front door open on Haymitch. The Watcher was in a foul mood but he was alive and relatively well – even if he made a face at the potions the warlock thrust at him – so Katniss decided to call it a night.

She didn’t mean to head to the guest room instead of her own but she found herself sitting on Peeta’s bed, watching him sleep… It was comforting to see his chest lift and fall with slow regularity, to see his muscles twitching from time to time… He had been so still before… Now he truly looked asleep and not…

She didn’t let herself think the word _dead_.

She didn’t mean to lie down next to him but she was so tired…

She was vaguely aware of someone else’s presence in the room at some point. Her body didn’t tense though and it took her a long sleepy second to realize it was because she had unconsciously recognized Haymitch’s footsteps.

Her Watcher muttered under his breath about rules and boys and girls and what not but he also covered her with a blanket so he couldn’t care that much about it. Maybe because Peeta was still tied up and that was enough guarantee for him that they wouldn’t get up to any funny business.

She kept her eyes closed and pretended to sleep because it was easier and she didn’t want to enter a debate about where she was supposed to sleep. Once he had made sure the blanket was up to her chin, he brushed her hair out of her face with a tenderness she didn’t quite expect.

There was a sudden lump in her throat and she had troubles breathing around it. She didn’t remember the last time someone had done that for her: made sure she was tucked in, brushed hair out of her face in her sleep… It was what she did for Prim without thinking but…

She had the sense he adjusted the blankets on Peeta as well and checked on him too before she heard his footsteps retreating. She traced his path in her mind, trying to use her Slayer senses to follow his progression… He paused at hers and Prim’s bedroom too, probably to make sure her sister was alright, and then, less than a minute later, she heard the sound of his bedroom door softly closing.

He moved around for a while. It was odd to hear that much because Effie used to have a soundproof spell on his room but it must have come down along with the Village’s wards.

She fell asleep listening to the sounds of the old boiler flaring up and the clanging of pipes, probably because he was taking a shower.

She slept like the dead.

She woke up slowly, instinctively snuggling closer to the source of warmth she was huddled against. Too big for Prim, a part of her mind realized, not that she really cared because it was warm and comfortable and she felt… _safe_.

There were arms around her and they held her tight. Tight enough to bruise. Tight enough that she wasn’t scared of losing him again.

Her eyelids fluttered open, she waited for the wave of panic but it didn’t come.

Somehow, in their sleep, Peeta had maneuvered her into his arms – or, more likely, she had sneaked under the chained hands and against his chest – but he hadn’t killed her yet, had he?

He was so still, she expected him to still be asleep but when she looked up, it was to find his blue eyes staring at her. His breathing was measured, _controlled._

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“I want to kiss you.” he blurted out. Her lips stretched into a smile before she could help it or even _try_ to help it. “I also want to kill you.” he added quickly, probably in case she got ideas. “But that’s not… I don’t think that’s me. It’s a voice. Not my voice.” He closed his eyes, letting his head fall back on the pillow. “I’m… Katniss, I’m… I’m in pieces.”

“It’s okay.” she promised, putting her palm flat on his chest and pushing herself up a little. She couldn’t go far, not with his bound hands at her back keeping her close, not with the way his arms tightened around her that little bit more. “Cinna says it’s going to go away.”

He licked his lips but didn’t reopen his eyes. “I don’t know what’s real anymore.”

“Ask.” she suggested.

“Ask who? How can I trust anything if I can’t trust myself?” he scoffed. “I don’t know who I am anymore. Nothing makes sense. I don’t know…”

“I do.” she whispered, brushing her fingers against his jaw tentatively. “Ask _me_.”

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, meeting her gaze. She tried to keep it steady for him but she was afraid he could read everything in her eyes because he always knew how to do that: _read_ _her_. With some hesitation, she moved her fingers to his lips, retracing their shape. His body tensed a little but he let her.

It was unfair. They had _barely_ started and…

“Your favorite color… it’s green?” he asked. “Real?”

Not really the most important information and really not what she had thought he would ask first but she rolled with it.

“That’s right. And yours is orange. Not bright orange but soft. Like a sunset.” He relaxed slightly and she found she couldn’t stop there. “You’re a painter. You’re a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. You never take sugar in your tea and you always double-knot your shoelaces.” The words tumbled out around the lump in her throat. She hadn’t been aware of just how much she knew about him, how much closer they had become since that night, all those months ago, when he had discovered who she was. “You’re a huge nerd.” she added with a chuckle that barely disguised the tears burning her eyes. “Huge marvel fan. You’re the captain of the wrestling team or, at least, you used to be. You love magic. You can make a pencil float for two seconds.” She chuckled again. “I still say it doesn’t count if you toss it first but…” She shrugged. “You’re the best person I know and I can’t lose you. _Ever_.”

That was more than she had meant to confess but he let out a long deep shaky breath.

“I love you.” he whispered. “Real or not real?”

Was it for her to answer that? But he had said it before, hadn’t he? He had implied it more than a few times and he had laid it bare plainly in the kitchen during movie night, when they had kissed for the first time.

“Real.” she answered.

He nodded slowly, as if that made sense to him.

Her hand had trailed down to his neck somehow and she slid it to his nape when he leaned down ever so slowly.

Their mouths brushed together. The novelty of it hadn’t worn off yet and it sent electric shocks all over her body, down to her toes. She used the hand on his nape to haul herself a little higher in his arms so she could have better access. When they closed over hers, his lips were insistent but she gave as good as she got.

She had been so scared she would lose him and never have _that_ again…

She was still a little clumsy but she liked to think she was learning fast and, if the little noises he was making were to be believed, she was doing something right. She stopped obsessing over her technique when he sucked her tongue in his mouth anyway.

He rolled them over and, for a mad second, she thought it was his _‘I want to kill you’_ side that was taking over but he never stopped kissing her and he didn’t show any sign of attacking her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about having him on top of her but her body soon decided it was the greatest thing ever and practically melted against his so… She buried her hand in his hair, kissed back with all she had and tried to ignore the way his bound hands were digging in her upper back.

Spreading her legs was instinctive somehow. Peeta’s body fitted so perfectly in the cradle of her thighs… It took her a second to figure out that what she felt against her was… _oh_ …

She wasn’t sure which one of them started moving their hips. There was no real finesse to it, much like fighting it was all instinctive. And it was… The kisses were feverish, bordering on desperate, and she gave herself to them willingly and completely. It was…

The door was flung open without any violence but entirely carelessly and Haymitch strolled in only to freeze in his tracks two steps in when he realized what was going on.

All in all, it probably looked very comical because both she and Peeta stopped kissing to stare at him with wide eyes, mouths half opened, bodies entirely rigid, and Haymitch just stared back, eyes equally wide, his face turning redder and redder by the second…

When he pinched his nose, Katniss suddenly felt the urgent need to untangle herself from Peeta but with his bound hands and everything it wasn’t easily done and…

_Awkward,_ she mused, furiously trying to get out of Peeta’s arms but since Peeta was also trying to get his arms from around her, it was… complicated.

And to make things worse, Prim showed up right behind Haymitch with a breakfast tray. Her sister clearly didn’t expect Haymitch to be standing in the way and barely avoided a collision.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“ _Nope_.” Haymitch answered, taking the tray from her, turning her around and pushing her in the corridor. “Not for your eyes. Go check on Effie.”

If the loud giggles could be believed, Prim wasn’t as unaware of what had been going on as Katniss would have liked. Still, she managed to extricate herself from Peeta and she sat up, tugging on the shirt that had rode up at some point, refusing to meet his eyes but also refusing to be embarrassed.

“You needed something?” she hissed.

Haymitch half-snorted, half-scoffed, sending a mild glare in the boy’s direction. “Well, seems you made your decision about the kissing or killing thing.”

Peeta made a small face. “Everything’s still muddy.”

“Don’t let me catch you when things get more clear, then.” Haymitch deadpanned, almost slamming the breakfast tray on the bedside table. “We can take off those chains, though, yeah?”

The boy recoiled a little. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Katniss rolled her eyes. “You would _never_ hurt anyone.”

“Tell that to my blood pressure.” Haymitch muttered but cleared his throat. “She’s right, kid, I think we’re okay taking those off. You haven’t attacked anyone yet.”

“Yet.” Peeta repeated, a little subdued. He chanced a glance at her and Katniss shot him an encouraging smile. Their eyes lingered and she felt herself blush.

“Do you know who you are?” Haymitch asked. “Who we are?”

Peeta dragged his gaze back to him, hesitating a little. “Some of it is really clear. Some of it is really not. I feel like… I feel like I’m supposed to hurt people. You should keep me tied up.”

Haymitch didn’t look happy with that. “I don’t want to keep you tied up if you don’t _need_ to be tied up and you don’t look like you’re a danger to anyone to me.”

“Please.” Peeta insisted. “I _don’t_ want to risk it.”

Haymitch looked uneasy so Katniss sighed. “How about we keep the chains on until tonight? If you don’t lose control or attack anyone in the meantime, we take them off.”

Peeta hesitated but eventually nodded. She glanced at her Watcher who also nodded.

“No funny business.” he muttered on his way out. “ And eat your breakfast.”

It was a bit awkward after he left, she didn’t quite dare look at Peeta so she pulled on a thread on the comforter instead.

It didn’t get better when Haymitch reappeared on the threshold and tossed a small rectangular box on the bed.

“ _Fucking_ be clever about it if you’re gonna do that.” her Watcher mumbled, not looking at them. “And don’t _fucking_ let me know you’re doing _that_. I _don’t_ want to know.”

He slammed the door shut and they both stared at the box, both turning crimson at the same time when they realized what exactly it was.

A box of condoms. With a few missing. Which _she_ didn’t want to know about.

“We don’t… do _that_ , real or not real?” Peeta asked, after having cleared his throat.

“Real.” she said immediately. “Not real.” she amended. “Not yet. I don’t know. Breakfast?”

Her voice had turned high-pitched and she used the excuse of reaching for the tray to drop the box in the bedside table’s drawer.

Out of sight, out of mind.

She was just getting used to _kissing_ , she wasn’t sure she was ready for more and certainly not when he was tied up.

Peeta being Peeta – brainwashed or not – sensed her unease and was only happy to play along with her change in subject. He asked questions, she answered to the best of her abilities…

And she tried not to think about how right it had felt to have him lying on top of her…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cough cough* this was NOT planned at all. Blame everlark. Apparently I kept them waiting too much XD Let's all have a thought for poor Haymitch's eyes XD I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts!


	11. Chapter 11

“For _fuck’s_ sake, Finnick, I _know_ , okay?” Haymitch snapped, slamming shut the dishwasher and ruing the day he actually accepted to take in two teenage girls – and a teenage boy, and a witch and a warlock, because it seemed they were all a package deal – who never remembered to empty the dishwasher. Being the one single responsible adult in the house _sucked_. He missed Effie and her daily reminders that everything ran more smoothly when everyone did their part. “You think it was fun for me? You think if I could have done anything to keep Effie from falling I _wouldn’t_ have?”

He had been bickering with Finnick for close to twenty minutes and that hadn’t solved anything. He used to like the kid. _Hell_ , he _still_ liked the kid. Mags had taken him under her wing around the time Haymitch had become Maysilee’s Watcher and they had seen each other in passing – mostly during holidays when Haymitch caved and made the trip to England – but he hadn’t really gotten to know him until _Annie_. Finnick was a good man because Mags suffered no fool. But he would never forgive Haymitch – or himself – and there wasn’t a thing Haymitch could do about that. It was probably a small miracle the young man was consenting to talk to him at all.

Even if that was only to rant about letting Effie get hurt.

_“I’m saying every time someone put a woman in your care they get killed so maybe the Council should reconsider.”_ Finnick snapped.

Haymitch actually stopped dead in his tracks because that blow was… Probably deserved but still painful as hell.

He grabbed the glass full of thick potion Cinna had left for him and downed it for a lack of anything better to do. It was the last full dose, the warlock had warned, then they would start to space out the potions and he would feel a bit weaker again for a while but, ultimately, he would also be sober.

As long as he didn’t have to do hallucinations, fever and cramps again, Haymitch was all for it.

“I’m surprised you ain’t already on a plane.” he scoffed. “I bet Coin’s already looking for volunteers to replace me.”

And Finnick was a prime candidate.

Sure, Coin had said he would remain Katniss’ Watcher but she had never said she wouldn’t keep a keen eye on him and with Effie compromised… Finnick would get his own Slayer before long, Haymitch surmised. The next rogue one, probably, or he would get assigned a Potential.

_“Unlike you, I would never abandon Mags.”_ Finnick retorted.

He wasn’t sure what the shot aimed at: his not being able to go to England after the stroke or his disappearing into the wild with Chaff at sixteen after Mabel’s death.

“I need to talk to her.” he repeated because, at least, they were back on track.

The house was a little too quiet for his taste, he had gotten used to it being loud with teenagers, but, right then, everyone was either napping or subdued. Prim was doing some homework in her room even though she hadn’t been back to school yet – and he wasn’t sure he _would_ be sending her back either way – Katniss was still with Peeta and he _didn’t_ want to know what they were up to, Hawthorne had blissfully not showed up all day – _he_ probably had gone to school – and Madge had sent him a text to tell him she was grounded – possibly on her way to a convent in Switzerland if her father had his way – but that she would do her best to get the info he wanted soon. Haymitch had told her to enjoy the chocolate if she ever made it to Switzerland and had left it at that.

_“She’s resting_.” Finnick replied, like often when he tried to get to Mags.

That boy was worse than a Cerberus… 

Haymitch dragged his feet up the stairs, feeling his already short patience burning to an end. He _needed_ to talk to Mags. Not only because he needed direct information about _The Capitol_ and its basement and he didn’t really feel like re-reading the journal about his mother and her gruesome end but also because everyone had been looking at him ever since the Reaping, waiting for him to tell them everything would be okay, and he desperately needed for _someone else_ to tell _him_ to have faith, that everything would sort itself out, that fate wasn’t the _bitch_ he accused her to be. And, to him, that person had always been Mags.

“Finnick.” he growled in warning.

“ _What? Afraid someone else in your care will die before she finishes her nap?”_ the younger Watcher mocked, his English accent irritating Haymitch even more.

And, suddenly, he didn’t have any more patience in stock. He didn’t have _calm_ in stock.

He was sober, his body felt like it had gone through the wringer, he was facing one of the greatest supernatural threats to mankind, the woman he might or might not have feelings for and who certainly would become a target once Snow realized she was comatose, his Slayer was frayed at the edges, he had been _to hell and back,_ there were people he had no hope of saving trapped in that hotel, and he was mentally _fucking_ _exhausted._ He just wanted _to talk to Mags_.

“For _fuck’s_ sake!” he exploded, raising his voice so loud a hush fell on the first floor. The kids had certainly not been loud but he was pretty sure they had all frozen at the sound of his voice. Not that he cared. _Not_ that he cared because… “What’s a man to do to talk to his own _bloody_ mother?!”

He ignored the girls’ door opening and Prim popping her head out with a sympathetic but curious look on her face. He headed straight for his bedroom because this conversation was _private_.

“ _I don’t know. Have you tried hiring a medium?”_ Finnick deadpanned flippantly.

Haymitch bit down on the inside of his cheek, reminding himself his kids were listening – or at least hearing him – and relying on him to _lead_. They couldn’t see him fall apart.

“That’s low.” he spat. “You know very well what I mean.”

Mags had adopted him. They had had it all officially arranged before his mother had passed. Legally, Hayden had been hers from the start, less questions asked, but _he_ had been adopted after his mother died. Mags had raised him. From toddler to man, she had _raised_ him. He didn’t call her _mom_ because he had been five when Iris had died and that had been old enough for him to realize what was going on. He only had blurry memories of Iris, most of them probably invented, but he had a lot of memories of Mags. _Mom_ and _Mags_ had always been pretty interchangeable in his head.

Her adopting him was the only reason he had been allowed in the inner sanctum that was the Watcher Academy to begin with. He was her heir.

Not Finnick, _him_.

And she might have taken the boy in when his parents got killed, she might have been treating him like a son too but Haymitch had been _the first_ and… She was his mother and Finnick Odair had no right to keep her from him. 

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

Prim had gone back inside her bedroom so he stopped in front of his closed door and leaned his forehead against the wood. He didn’t really want to go inside the bedroom because Effie would be there, lying in that weird deep sleep that looked so much like she was dead…

“ _I’m sorry.”_ Finnick finally sighed. “ _That was shitty of me. I’m sorry.”_

“I need to talk to Mags.” he said again, for what felt like the hundredth time.

_“Alright.”_ the younger man agreed. _“But if you want information… It’s easier if you tell me what you’re after and I shoot you an email. She’s doing better. She’s moving around with a walking stick, she’s recovering as well as expected but speaking is difficult for her. Talking on the phone frustrates her because one time out of two you won’t understand what she’s saying.”_

He had noticed.

He had done his best to call regularly since the stroke. Mags couldn’t always answer – or Finnick wasn’t always in a mood to pass her the phone – but the few times he had managed to get a hold of her, she had either grunted her answers or mumbled them so low it had been almost impossible for him to understand.

_“She…”_ Finnick hesitated. _“She would be happy to hear you though. I know she misses you.”_

“I miss her too.” he admitted, opening the door and walking in the room only to freeze.

_“I’ll wake her up now.”_ the other man offered.

“No.” he said quickly. “I’ve got to go. Effie’s awake.”

He hung up and tossed the phone on the dresser, making his way to the bed in a few strides. She wasn’t _just_ awake, she was trying to push herself up on her hands and knees and failing.

“Effie.” he called softly, sitting down on the mattress and placing a hand on her shoulder. “You need to lie back down. I’ll get you…”

Lifting her head seemed to cost her a lot of energy, there was a vacant look in her eyes…

“Bathroom…” she rasped out.

“Oh…” It was stupid of him to be surprised, they had been filling her up with fluids every time she showed signs of consciousness. Obviously she was going to need the bathroom at some point. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll carry you, alright, sweetheart?”

Had she been in her normal state, he was sure she would have had something to say about that but, right then, she simply seemed relieved not to have to fight to keep upright. She didn’t struggle when he carefully picked her up and she didn’t say anything at all when he sat her on the toilet. He waited outside the room and only went back in when he heard the flush.

Somehow, she had hauled herself to her feet by using the sink as leverage and was washing her shaking hands. Her legs weren’t steady though and he grabbed her waist just in time to catch her when they gave.

“Easy, princess.” he whispered. “ _Easy_.”

He adjusted his hold on her waist and lifted her legs up again, carrying her back to bed. She surrendered to him easily, resting her head on his shoulder. “What… What happened?”

Her throat must have been so raw… Her voice was all hoarse and raspy.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked.

She sounded lucid enough. Certainly more lucid than she had been the past couple of days.

“Nightmare.” She shivered and buried her face in his neck. “Scared.”

He tightened his hold on her, only reluctantly placing her back down on the bed. “It’s okay. I’ve got you now.” Someone, Prim he presumed, had left a glass of water on the nightstand. He helped her drink from it. “I’m gonna get you something to eat. You need to get your strength back.”

Her hand was clutching her chest and she looked confused, when she lifted her eyes to his, they were full of tears. “Why am… Why am I empty? I feel so… I feel so _empty_ …”

_The_ _magic_ , he realized with a pang.

He made a face. “That’s not important for now. You just need to rest a little and…”

“I’m empty.” she repeated in a horrified whisper. She started clawing at her chest but she didn’t have much strength and, when he grabbed her hand to stop her, she only fought him for a second before it became limp in his. 

“Sweetheart…” He brushed his other fingers against her cheek. “You’re alive. That’s the main thing.”

“Is it?” She laughed a broken mad laugh that turned into a cough.

It wasn’t a good cough and it worried him. He rubbed her back but pulled the blankets back on her body. She looked so frail… All her bones were sharp under her skin… 

“It’s gonna be alright, Effie.” he promised.

“I can barely feel it…” she whispered. “I can barely…”

“It will come back.” he insisted. “You just need…”

She shook her head, the words tumbling out of her mouth as she worked herself into a panic. “I _barely_ have a drop of power left. I can’t… I can’t do _anything_ … I can’t…”

“Effie.” he cut her off firmly, framing her face in his hands until she looked at him. “ _Breathe_.” For a second, he didn’t think she would listen but then she started matching him breath for breath until her body uncoiled. “Cinna says the magic will come back eventually. You just… You ran dry. Do you remember?”

She stared at him for a long time. After a minute or two, she frowned. “There was a demon.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “He stole your magic, your life force. And then you tried to sacrifice yourself right in front of me for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.” He didn’t mean to but his voice turned sharp. _Angry_. “The _fuck_ were you thinking?”

She lifted her shaky hand and coiled it around his wrist. He got the message and stopped cradling her face. She sank down on the bed so she could curl up on her side. He put his hand on her shoulder. He wasn’t sure if she wanted space but he couldn’t stop touching her, he _had_ to make sure she was…

“How long…” She was speaking so low he had to bend down to be able to hear. “How long ago…”

“It’s been two days since the Reaping. Snow’s free, hopefully still weak. Too well protected though, we can’t get to him and we’re running on the theory that he needs Slayer blood so… You know.” He ran a hand over his face. “For you, I’d say it’s been…”

“Months.” she whispered before he could. She closed her eyes tight for a moment. He had the feeling the memories were slowly trickling back and she was trying to put them in an order that made sense. “Peeta?”

“In the guest room, fooling around with my Slayer.” he grumbled. “He’s not quite himself yet. That magic did a number on him. It did a number on you too…” He brushed her tangled hair back, away from her face. “You had me worried, sweetheart.”

“You tried to save me…” she whispered. “You could have killed him but you tried to save me instead…”

His mind flashed back to that moment next to the Hellmouth during the Reaping.

He had found himself face to face with Snow, almost toes to toes really… He _should_ have killed him. Staked him. Beheaded him. Never before had his instinct betrayed him like it did at that moment. Because instead of being intent on killing the bane of his existence, his instinct had been all about saving her and the boy.

He started stroking her hair without meaning to. “Couldn’t lose you.”

“Duty first.” she countered.

“Yeah… Katniss and I ain’t that good at putting duty first, seems like.” He snorted. “We need you to keep us in line.” Her eyelids were fluttering as if she was fighting sleep. “It’s okay.” he encouraged, gently moving his hand to her nape and giving it a small comforting squeeze. “Just go to sleep, sweetheart. I’m gonna be here when you wake up again.”

“No more magic…” she mumbled.

“It will come back.” he insisted.

“I feel so empty…” She felt around until she found his other hand. She clutched his fingers but she didn’t have much strength, her grip wasn’t as tight as he would have liked. “Don’t let him get Katniss.”

“That’s the plan. Mostly, we’re licking our wounds for now.” He hesitated, his thumb gently running up and down the side of her neck... “Sweetheart, about what you said down there… About what _I_ didn’t say…” She turned her face, buried it a little into the pillow and he didn’t have the heart to continue, not when she looked so worn out. He brushed a kiss on her forehead. “Get some rest. I’ll be right here. Nothing’s gonna get to you.”

“The Peacekeeper…” she murmured.

“He’s dead.” he promised. “Probably for a decade or two by now. You’re safe.”

“He stole everything from me…” she whispered. “I could feel my magic slipping away… My _life…_ ” She squeezed his fingers. “I fought…”

“I know.” Of course, she had fought him. She was nothing if not a survivor, his witch. “You won.”

“Did I?” Her voice was becoming fainter, rougher. She was half asleep again. “I hoped you’d come… I wasn’t sure… I hoped… For Peeta…”

“I came.” he reminded her because she didn’t sound terribly coherent anymore and he didn’t want her to think she was still in hell. “I’ll always come after you, sweetheart.” He licked his lips, feeling awkward and not quite sure how to word the rest. He had _fucked_ up down there. He wasn’t sure he was ready to say the _L_ word or even to _think_ it but, one thing was for sure, they _weren’t_ casual or just friends or… He wanted to tell her, to explain, but he didn’t have the right words. “I’d do it again. I’d go to hell every day for you if I had to.”

“Out of duty.” she breathed out with such certainty…

“No.” he scoffed. “ _No_. _Fuck_ duty. What are you talking about?”

He didn’t get an answer, she was asleep.

Somehow, he mused, he had _fucked_ up _again_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone give that man a hug! What did you think? Did you like it?


	12. Chapter 12

“One down.” Haymitch sighed as he closed the guest room’s door behind Katniss. “One to go.”

She tried to smile at the bad joke but she couldn’t muster much energy and she didn’t have it in her to fake it. Sleeping her full and spending the day doing not much of anything with Peeta had done her good but patrolling hour was growing near and she was nervous about going out.

The fact that Peeta had been so reluctant to let them untie him just then… Haymitch had had to force the issue, insisting that if he hadn’t lost control yet, he was unlikely to lose it at all. And Katniss agreed. They had spent the whole day together. Violence had flashed in his blue eyes once or twice but he had always kept a lid on it, reminded himself of who he was with minimum input from her…

“Do you think he will be alright?” she asked in a small voice.

They had underestimated the effect his stay in hell had on his body. After Haymitch had unlocked the chains, Peeta had tried to get up and if Katniss hadn’t caught him, he would have fallen face down on the floor. He had admitted to feeling faint and dizzy and had _barely_ managed a trip to the bathroom with the Watcher’s help.

“He looked well enough to me this morning when it was about fooling around with you.” Haymitch deadpanned, leading the way downstairs where her sister was waiting. She didn’t laugh or smile or even blush at that joke either and he let out another sigh, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Look, they’ve been through a lot and they’re not gonna get better in one day. Their bodies need time to recover their strength and I’m guessing they’re gonna be a bit _fucked_ up in the head for a while… Best thing we can do for now is give them space and safety to piece themselves back together, alright?” That was deep for Haymitch so Katniss forced herself to nod her understanding. He squeezed her shoulder. “Hey, on the bright side, he seems more interested in sucking your face than strangling you so… You know. _Progress_.”

“Haymitch!” she scoffed, shrugging him off with annoyance – and a little bit of amusement.

He was chuckling when he nudged her into the kitchen but his chuckles died as soon as he spotted Prim sitting at the table, clearly nervous. Katniss was nervous too.

This part, she wasn’t sure about.

She sat next to Haymitch, on the opposite side of the table from Prim and it might not have been the best choice because it felt a little like they were the judges and Prim the accused party. Her sister must have felt that way too because she pulled on her sweater’s sleeves until they covered her whole hands.

“Is Peeta okay?” Prim asked in a soft uncertain voice.

“All chains free.” Haymitch said cheerfully – though Katniss figured the cheer was fake. “So be careful around him for a while, yeah? I don’t think he’d hurt you, sweetheart, but better safe and all that…”

Prim nodded. “Cinna went out again, he said I should let you know.”

Cinna was convinced Effie’s mother had left town but he kept searching every day anyway. Katniss thought it was a way to escape the dead woman in their basement and she sort of understood that so she had made her peace with it.

“We need to talk to you about something.” she said bluntly before Haymitch could continue the pleasantries. This was going to be tricky either way they did it and she wanted it over with. Prim looked apprehensive enough and… It was better to do it quickly. “Haymitch has friends in England you could go stay with for a while.”

Silence dropped on the kitchen.

She hadn’t been sure about this when Haymitch had suggested it and she still wasn’t sure about it right then – she was even less sure now that she had heard him argue with _said_ friends that very afternoon on the phone. He had worked out something with whoever Finnick was though and he said he trusted Mags with his life so…

“You’re sending me away.” Prim breathed out in a horrified whisper, her blue eyes darting from Haymitch to Katniss. “I apologized! You said… I will _never_ do something that stupid again, I _promise_!”

“This ain’t a punishment, sweetheart.” Haymitch cut in, placing both hands down on the table. Katniss tried not to notice how bad the shaking was. “You’re grounded. No TV, no fun, nothing. _That’s_ your punishment. And, obviously, the only way you’re leaving the house now is during daylight and with an escort.” He paused. “Thing is… That last part ain’t a punishment either, that’s gonna be your life until we stop Snow if you stay here.”

“I’ll do it.” Prim said immediately. “I’ll do everything you say. Just, _please_ …”

“It could be an adventure.” Katniss interrupted, trying to make it sound more exciting. “Haymitch’s friends live in London, you know. Think about all the fun stuff you could do… You could go see a musical or something… You love that stuff…”

Prim’s eyes were filling with tears that she tried and failed to blink away. Her sister was clearly panicking and Katniss felt the last of her anger fade away. She walked around the table and plopped on the seat next to Prim, wrapping her arms around her. The girl burst into sobs and Haymitch clucked his tongue, ill-at-ease and upset, before reaching across the table to grab Prim’s hand.

“It _ain’t_ a punishment, sweetheart, and it ain’t like we’re giving you up, alright?” he insisted. “We just want you to be _safe_.”

“Please, don’t make me go. _Please_.” Prim begged, clinging both to his hand and to Katniss’ arm. “I’ll be careful. I _promise_ I will be. I don’t want to leave. _Please_.”

Haymitch met Katniss’ eyes, the meaning in them clear. _Your call_ , they said because he had already expressed his opinion on the subject but, at the end of the day, they also long ago agreed she was the one who called the shots when it came to important decisions about Prim. She may have relaxed in this whole guardianship but she would have accepted nothing less.

“You need to understand it’s all gonna be different now.” Katniss insisted. “We can’t take _any_ risk. You know what happened to Haymitch’s brother…” Haymitch flinched like she had hit him but he didn’t stop her from saying her piece. “That vampire… He’s twisted. And when he figures out I have a sister… You’re gonna be a target, Prim.”

“I won’t go out of the house after dark. _Ever_.” Prim swore. “I will do everything you say. Let me stay with you. Katniss, _please_. It was one dumb mistake. I…”

“One dumb mistake killed my brother.” Haymitch interrupted and when Prim opened her mouth he lifted a hand to prevent her from talking. “I ain’t saying it to be mean. You’re twelve. I don’t expect you to be perfect all the time, sweetheart. But that’s the thing… My brother knew all the risks, far better than you do ‘cause we grow up in the business, and one dumb mistake was all it took. England… It’s the safest place for you right now. I won’t force this. I told Katniss it’s her choice. But… Yeah. If you were mine…” He stopped, snorted and shook his head. “ _Fuck_ that, you _are_ mine and I say sending you away is the smart thing _because_ we care about you.”

“We love you.” Katniss corrected because _really_. She shot Haymitch a look and he rolled his eyes.

“Right. _That_.” he mumbled. “No need to get all mushy.”

“I love you too.” Prim whispered. “That’s why I want to stay. I want to _help_. I want…”

“You’re not going to help.” she growled. “You’re too young.”

“But I’m good at research.” Prim argued. “And I’m good at first help. And… And… I won’t leave the house again until you kill that vampire. How about that? I can be homeschooled.”

Haymitch snorted in disbelief. “You prefer house arrest to _London_?”

“It’s not really house arrest, is it?” Prim shrugged. “There’s the garden. And the Village is safe, right? I can still walk around. And I’d be safe enough with one of you outside so I can still go grocery shopping or something if I go stir crazy…” She turned her very effective pleading eyes to Haymitch. “I _don’t want_ to go to London. I’m sure your friends are really nice but I want to stay with my family because if something happens and I’m not here it will haunt me the rest of my life.”

Haymitch faltered.

Probably because, yet again, Prim had demonstrated more maturity than Katniss did on a daily basis.

“If something happens to _you_ I will never recover.” Katniss told her softly.

“Nothing is going to happen to me.” Prim argued. “I’m not the super hero here. I’ll be _extra_ -careful.”

“Famous last words.” Haymitch muttered, searching Katniss’ eyes.

Katniss had already been torn about it. Sending Prim to strangers was not reassuring to her, having her out of her sight where she could keep her safe… And now her sister was begging her to keep her – which was what her instinct told her was _best_ in the first place…

“If things escalate or if you do something stupid again, you’re on the first flight.” Katniss decided, aiming for stern but barely managing to hide her relief. Being parted from Prim, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to bear it. “No discussion, no negotiation.”

Prim squealed in joy and relief, tossed her arms around her neck and squeezed the life out of her. “I love you.”

“I love you too, little duck.” she whispered in her sister’s blond hair.

Prim escaped her arms and rounded the table to hug Haymitch tight too. “I love you.”

Her Watcher patted the girl’s back, clearly softening. “Do me a solid and stay alive no matter what, sweetheart.”

Prim dutifully promised and escaped the kitchen, clearly hoping to escape that particular conversation too. Katniss waited until she was certain her sister was out of earshot to confront Haymitch. “You think it’s a mistake to let her stay.”

He took a long deep breath, measuring his words like he rarely did. “I don’t think it’s a mistake. I just hope we won’t regret it.” He rubbed his face. “The homeschooling thing… We should consider it. And… You might have to drop out and do the same.”

He said the last part reluctantly but she waved it off. “I don’t care about school.”

He didn’t press the issue for now and she wasn’t surprised.

They had bigger fish to fry than her graduating or not.

°O°O°O°O°

Every time she woke up, Effie felt like she was underwater.

There was a persistent humming in her ears that would never go away, it was extremely annoying. Her body wouldn’t respond to her, too heavy and too limp for her to control. Her brain wasn’t working so well either – or so she surmised because it was hard to keep track of one thought, to _process_ what was happening, what had happened… And, of course, there was that missing piece of her, the gap in her chest, the cold empty void where her magic used to be… How hollow she felt…

Opening her eyes took more effort than it ought.

Opening her eyes to find very familiar blue ones staring back at her was really not what she had expected and a scream escaped her throat. Except she didn’t have the strength for screaming and it ended up a pathetic whimper.

_‘Attitude, Euphemia.’_ her mother chided.

The words echoed in her mind but it took her a second to realize that because… She had gotten _really_ used to telepathy in the last few months.

“You’re not really here…” she mumbled.

_‘How could I be?’_ Elindra huffed. _‘Your warlock warded the Village against me. It took me hours to figure out how to sneak an astral projection through.’_ She pursed her lips. _‘You do not look good.’_

So not telepathy, after all… She could see it now that she knew to look for it though. Her mother was a bit on the transparent side. A projection of her body with her mind. From a good distance away given how tenuous the connection seemed to be.

“That tends to happen when you fall into a hell portal…” she rasped out. She tried to sit but she barely managed to push herself up a little. Haymitch’s bed dwarfed her. “Do you have _any_ idea what you have unleashed, Mother?”

_‘Oh, pish posh.’_ Elindra dismissed, waving her hand. _‘I told you to stay out of it.’_

“That is so _not_ the issue here.” she snapped. “Because of you…”

_‘You are alive.’_ Elindra cut her off, clearly not interested in her reproaches. _‘I suppose that Watcher and your Slayer are not entirely useless after all. Still, you are precious to me, Effie, so do us both a favor and do not put yourself in mortal peril until I can shake Cinna lose and come back for you.’_

“I am precious to you?” she asked, more surprised than she perhaps ought to be. Her mother had never worded her feelings that way before – or in _any_ way, really. She stared at her face, avid for a glimpse of maternal love or… But there was nothing of note to read on her mother’s face. Only…

Was that _greed_? 

_‘Of course, you are precious to me_.’ Elindra hummed with a visibly fake smile. There was a touch of worry in her gaze too. _‘And if I could, I would come to retrieve you right now. I chanced it for too long as it is.’_ Her mother shook her head. _‘Well, I will have to send Cinna on a wild goose chase first, he is quite intent on killing me, you see. With those new powers it should be easy to evade him though. And, of course, I have that pesky problem waiting for me on the west coast… I will deal with all that. Then, I will come back for you.’_

Was it because her head felt like it was full of cotton that it felt more like a threat than a comfort?

She frowned. “Mother…”

Elindra suddenly turned her head and her image vanished. Effie couldn’t feel around with her magic like she usually would have – and that felt like having a missing limb you tried to use when you knew there was nothing left there – but she was fairly certain Elindra was gone.

A second later, Haymitch appeared on the threshold with a tray and a forced smile on his lips that didn’t reach his eyes. “Good, you’re awake. Got you some mashed potatoes. Let’s see if you can eat that…”

She stared at him for a moment, her brain needing a minute to catch up, and then she rubbed the exhaustion out of her eyes. Or _tried_ to. Her coordination wasn’t the best and her hands were as unsteady as his were when he went too long without a drink.

She felt weak and useless, not to mention ugly. She had caught one glimpse of her in the bathroom mirror and it had been enough. Her hair was awful, she looked gaunt and the bags under her eyes practically reached her cheekbones.

She missed his coming closer and carefully setting the tray next to her on the nightstand. She also missed him sitting down on the mattress just as cautiously. He reached for her hand and she tried not to be too obvious when she moved hers out of reach. He tensed but drew his back without a word or an attempt to force the issue.

“News?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing much. I sent Katniss on patrol but I told her to avoid the Cornucopia and the Capitol. I… I think we need to play it safe for now and I had to stay here to keep an eye on you lot so… I don’t like sending her out without back-up right now.” He swallowed hard and averted his eyes. “Tried to send Prim to England but she won’t hear of it and Katniss said she could stay so… That’s that, I guess. Peeta’s still confused and he’s gonna need a while to be back on his feet. Bit like you. Otherwise he’s doing okay.” He cleared his throat. “Cinna hasn’t found your mother yet. He thinks she ran out of town. She left a trail so he’s gonna head out after her soon and… I’m not sure I can stop him. I’m not sure I _want_ to.” 

He was apologizing, she realized, because Cinna intended to kill Elindra.

“My mother can take care of herself.” she dismissed because that was the truth. And she honestly wasn’t sure that Cinna, all powerful as he was, could find her if she didn’t want to be found. She was more concerned with what Elindra intended to do with all her new powers. “Anything else?”

The mashed potatoes smelled good but it also left her a bit nauseous. She couldn’t tell if it was hunger or the fact that she couldn’t remember the last time she had had anything to eat. Her magic had been keeping her alive for months. She had burned herself like a candle and now…

“I took a look at your car. Nothing’s wrong with it that I can see so I’m guessing it’s magic.” he added. “I’m gonna have Cinna check it over.”

There was something he wasn’t telling her, she could guess that much, but she was too tired to try and weasel it out of him so she chose the blunt approach. “How are you?”

“Good.” he said quickly. “You know… Sober. Shoulder’s stiff but my head’s still working so…” He shrugged again. “Cinna’s really _shit_ at healing magic.”

Healing magic, in her experience, was more of a natural gift than something you learned. There were spells, of course, but… For her, it had always been more about the natural flow of her power.

Her _missing_ power.

“Sober?” she repeated, preferring not to obsess over the rest.

“Yeah.” he sighed. “Long story. Or short one, I guess. Whatever. I need my wits about me.”

“I see.” she whispered.

“Coin wants you to call her when you’re up to it.” he told her and she wondered if she was imagining how awkward the whole conversation was or… Was it her exhaustion or was it… _weird_?

Of course, it was weird.

How could it be anything but weird when she had said what she had said and he hadn’t even answered? Oh the silence that had followed her confession… She had thought she was going to die. She hadn’t wanted to go with any regrets. But that silence… _That silence_ …

It had probably hurt her more than everything the Peacekeeper had done to her.

“Effie.”

She looked up at him, not having realized she had started to curl up again.

His eyes were soft and full of something that could have been tenderness. It probably was.

Tenderness or fondness weren’t love though.

“Let’s try to eat something, alright?” he insisted.

It quickly turned out she wasn’t strong enough to bring the spoon to her mouth more than a couple of times but he took over for her and, if it was a bit awkward to be spoon fed by someone who she might or might not still be in a not so casual relationship with, she was too tired to care about the indignity of it all.

She couldn’t finish the plate. It wasn’t very long before she felt uncomfortably full. This time, he let her curl up again and even made sure the blankets were up to her neck, which was nice if a little odd.

He sat there and watched her and she stared at the wall, trying to find the courage to address the elephant in the room.

She didn’t want to talk about it though.

She didn’t even want to talk _to_ him.

There was only one person she wanted to talk to right then.

“Can I borrow your phone? I lost mine.” she asked, glancing at the clock. “You don’t mind an international call, right?”

It was the middle of the night in England, not at all a decent time and, truly, she should have waited at least a couple of hours so it was closer to dawn but… There was a lump in her throat and she was _so_ tired. She felt like a child again and…

“You don’t have to call the Council now.” Haymitch frowned.

“I don’t want to call the Council.” she whispered.

He slipped his phone from his pocket and then tapped it against his other palm for a few seconds, a hesitant look on his face. “You’re okay with me sleeping here tonight?”

“It is your bed.” she argued.

“Ain’t what I asked.” he pointed out.

Something vulnerable flashed in his eyes but she couldn’t… She couldn’t deal with that right now. “I don’t mind you sleeping next to me, Haymitch.”

_Next to me_ not _with me_.

She hadn’t meant to make the distinction but… He looked dejected when he nodded and handed her the phone. He grabbed the tray and left her alone while she fumbled through his contacts. There were a lot of Watchers names on that list she was certain he had never spoken to before but the Council was a network and you never knew who you would need.

She tapped on the right name and waited, pressing the phone harder to her ear than necessary.

He answered after three rings.

_“Mr Abernathy.”_ he said, his tone cool and professional. She knew him so well, though, she heard the anxiety underneath. _“I was dreading this call. Is Effie…”_

“Hello, Caesar.” she cut him off. “I am sorry to wake you up…”

_“My dear girl…”_ her former Watcher breathed out, relief and awe all rolled into one.

It was so good to hear him, _so good_ , she burst into tears and told him everything.

Because when she fell apart, Caesar was always the one to put her back together...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeeell, Prim is staying, for better or for worse she will experience the joy of lockdown XD And hayffie doesn't seem like they have their groove back, I'm afraid... On the plus side, she called her adoptive dad and we got a Caesar cameo XD
> 
> Only one chapter left! I hope you enjoyed this!
> 
> (I'm having a hayffie advent calendar thing if you're interested, one OS a day except of chaptered stories day so... keep an eye out, they will be published here, on tumblr and on ff)


	13. Chapter 13

Haymitch crossed his arms in front of his chest and watched the scene unfold, leaning against the wall for support. He was still feeling the effects of withdrawals although he had now been off the potion for a few days and it seemed to have worked well enough – he had cravings and headaches, his hands weren’t always steady but his mind was clear and he could focus. He was also feeling the consequences of the heavy magic Cinna had coached him through.

The wards on the Village felt uncomfortably heavy on his shoulders, stretching his meager magical competences to the thin. They were a variation of Effie’s, Cinna’s had been too hard and too complicated. Still, he hated magic. He hated the way it ate at him and ebbed his strength.

Cinna was certain Effie would eventually recover and be able to take over for him.

Haymitch hoped that would happen soon but he didn’t see it realistically turning out like that. She had improved a little during the last few days but she could still barely sit without help.

“I have something for you.” Cinna told Katniss, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his black jeans.

It was a short farewell committee that was seeing the warlock to the door. Effie obviously was still in bed but Peeta hadn’t come down either. _Hell_ , Peeta hadn’t been out of his room since they had brought him home aside for short trips to the bathroom. The boy was recovering his strength more quickly than the witch but he was withdrawn, didn’t talk for hours at a time – not even to Katniss – and sometimes seemed so lost that it broke Haymitch’s heart to see him like that. Prim was awkwardly hovering near the stairs, already having said her goodbyes. That left him and Katniss.

“Yeah? What?” Katniss asked, not really happy with the warlock taking off – she had expressed that a few times and loudly.

Haymitch wasn’t any happier about it but he understood his reasons.

Revenge was a powerful driving force.

He watched Cinna pull something out of his pocket, not quite surprised to catch the glint of gold in the pale hallway light.

His Slayer snorted. “So you stole my pin and you’re giving it back? Nice gift.”

If Effie had been down there with them, she would have probably chided her for her tone. Haymitch rubbed his eyes and tried not to imagine it could have been worse. The witch could be dead instead of lying curled up in bed upstairs.

“I gave that pin to Maysilee as a gift. So she would remember to soar.” Cinna continued, more amused than offended. He pinned the golden bird on Katniss’ sweater where it resided more often than not since Madge had given it to her. “I also casted a protection spell on it back in the day. It faded when she died. I enchanted it again. For _you_.”

Katniss brushed her fingers against the pin, her hostility decreasing a notch. “Thanks.”

“It is a _mild_ protection spell, note.” the warlock insisted. “It will help some but do not do anything crazy like jump off a building. Or set yourself on fire.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “That was an _accident_. _Both_ times. You and Haymitch really need to let that go.”

“Never.” Haymitch snorted. “No way.”

Cinna smiled but there was a tinge of sadness in there. “You have not met me at my best, Katniss, and I apologize for that. Hopefully when I come back I can be a better friend and ally to you.”

Katniss nodded and accepted the hug the warlock went for before retreating to where her sister was standing. Haymitch waited until they had scampered off the stairs, probably to Peeta’s room, to push himself off the wall and closer to Cinna.

He offered the warlock a hand that the man used to pull him into a hug of his own.

“I will come back when you need me.” Cinna swore.

Haymitch resisted the temptation to tell him they needed him _right then_.

“Remember to check your phone.” was all he said instead. “And if I don’t make it…”

“Do not think like that.” the warlock advised.

He flashed him a bitter smirk. “I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to come for me yet. You know it’s gonna happen at some point and when it does…” He shook his head. “Look, just… Save as many of them as you can. I don’t care if you have to knock them down and kidnap them. If I’m not there anymore and it turns ugly and you don’t think it’s winnable… Do what you have to do.”

Cinna stared at him for a long time and then tilted his head in a solemn bow.

Haymitch nodded back.

He wondered if he imagined how lighter the house felt once the warlock was gone for good. He wasn’t usually too sensitive to magic although he had enough experience to sense it but he knew Effie had felt Cinna’s presence more acutely because the weight of his powers was oppressing. And, he had to admit… But maybe it was just the knowledge that the basement was now corpse-free and they could go back to training – which they _really_ needed to do.

They would need to train Prim too. Just in case. He wasn’t having anyone in this house _not_ know how to use a stake. Effie had taught her some self-defense already but not enough in his opinion.

He wandered upstairs, not quite surprised to hear voices coming from the boy’s room. It sounded like Katniss and Prim were trying to coax him into a board game to distract him with little success. He didn’t stop to check on him because he didn’t want to bother them. The boy responded best to Katniss anyway.

All he felt when he walked closer to his own bedroom was dread.

He had become really accustomed to that feeling in the last few days. There was an awkward tension between Effie and him that didn’t use to be there and that made sharing a room difficult. She claimed she didn’t mind but she shied away from his touch, she didn’t seek his warmth during the night like she used to and every time the subject came a little too close to _them_ , she danced away from the topic.

There were a lot of things he could face without blinking or hesitation but, funnily enough, he wasn’t sure the break-up he could see looming in the distance was one of them.

Still, he pushed the door of the bedroom and stepped inside, hoping his face didn’t reflect the anxiety he felt. 

“I don’t know how you did it.” he grumbled with a sigh. “I’ve cast the warding spell yesterday and my skin’s still crawling.”

She was curled up on her side, the brand new phone with its pink glittery case he had purchased for her in her hand, her blue eyes tiredly tracking his progress around the room. “I barely felt it.”

Of course, she had barely felt it. She was a powerful witch. He was an amateur who was hoping he hadn’t _fucked_ the spell up.

“You reached Coin?” he asked, dropping in his old frayed armchair.

“She wants me to come home as soon as I am able to travel.” she told him.

“Home?” he repeated with a frown. What did Coin care if Effie slept in his house or across the street? And why had Effie felt the need to tell her?

“England.” she corrected softly, not meeting his eyes.

“Since when is England _home_?” he scoffed.

She had been referring to the Village as _home_ for so long now that…

“It was my home once.” she argued, pushing herself up against the pillow. He bit back his protest even if she was shaking and looked exhausted once she was sitting. She got frustrated quickly and didn’t take it particularly well when he tried to manage her. “There is to be a hearing. The Council is not happy with my performance.”

Not unexpected but a blow nonetheless.

“Well, you ain’t going so she can suck it.” He shrugged. She didn’t answer at once and he frowned again. “You _ain’t_ going, right?”

“I am a Watcher, I serve at the pleasure of the Council.” she reminded him and then licked her lips. “I am not going any time soon anyway. I cannot even _stand_ , much less take a plane.”

“It’s a waste of time, sweetheart.” He scowled. “You’re gonna waste a trip, we both know they’re gonna assign another Watcher sooner or later.”

Officially, to _assist_ him, like Finnick with Annie.

Unofficially, to _manage_ him.

And the only Watcher he would accept to be managed by was _Effie_.

“We will see.” she whispered.

“If you go, they won’t let you come back.” he insisted. “They’re gonna send you on a mission to India or Africa or to the _fucking_ Arctic. You know I’m right.” Her silence was telling and he let a few seconds pass before it dawned on him that she was seriously considering it. His chuckles were low and bitter and, maybe, a bit betrayed. “You’d do it. You’d go where they tell you to go and you’d leave us to deal with this _shit_.”

Her eyes flashed with anger but her face was a perfect blank mask.

“I am not really useful anymore, am I?” she retorted. “And whose fault is it if we are in this _shit_ to begin with, as you say? What happened, Haymitch? What the _hell_ happened during the Reaping?”

His hands curled around the armrests. “Couldn’t control Katniss. I _fucked_ up. Yeah. But so did _you_.”

She stared at him with pure disbelief. “Are you _kidding_ me? _I_ did what _you_ should have done. I went to dispatch the real threat instead of running into the fray like a sixteen year-old without _any_ experience. _Why_ didn’t _you_ try to stop the witch sooner?”

“Because Katniss and Prim were in danger, for _fuck’s_ sake!” he snapped.

“And _Snow_?” she challenged. “Did you fail to stake him because your Slayer was in danger or was it because you were distracted by…”

“By _what_?” he snarled, shooting out of the armchair to pace the length of the room. “By you and the boy dangling right above the Hellmouth? _Damn right_ it distracted me. And if you hadn’t jumped in…”

“I did _not_ jump in!” she screamed right back.

He hadn’t realized he was shouting before she raised her voice but he made an effort to lower his. He didn’t want to alarm the kids. “You let yourself fall and that’s the same _fucking_ thing.”

“There was no way, _no way,_ I was leaving Peeta alone and you would have done the _very_ same thing.” she replied. “So spare me the lecture.”

“ _Fine_.” he granted. “You had to protect the boy, _fine_. Did you _have_ to try and kill yourself when I was _this_ close to rescuing you?”

She stared back at him, her defiance slowly fading into regret. “I did not think my body could recover. You don’t understand what it felt like. He _fed_ from _me_. Not just my magic. _Me_. I was fading away to _nothing_.” She snorted. “Perhaps it would have been for the best if you had left me for dead anyway. I _can’t_ bear _this_.” 

She slapped her own chest, over her heart, and he figured she meant the loss of her magic.

“ _Don’t you fucking dare_ say that sort of things to me.” he growled. He had lost too many people. There were _too many_ dead women in his past who would have given anything for just another day.

She deflated suddenly, looking tired and lost. “Why do you care anyway? It is not like you love me, Haymitch.” She rubbed her eyes. “Or perhaps you _do_ love me but you are not _in love_ with me, is that it?”

And there it was…

The real crux of the problem.

“It ain’t that easy an answer.” he mumbled.

He wanted to tell her about Mabel and what she had said – ghost or hallucination – but not like _this_ , not in anger. She was the only one he would have told, he realized, the only one he would have trusted enough to confess that much. And now…

“It _is_ , actually.” she whispered. “It’s a straightforward answer. Either you do or you don’t.” He was silent too long again and her face crumbled. She stared at the phone clutched in her hand. “This is my fault. We _did_ say there would be no feelings involved but clearly…”

“I never said there weren’t any _fucking_ feelings involved.” he spat, swallowing hard. “There are _too many_ _fucking_ feelings if you ask me.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “I see.”

“No, you _don’t_.” he scoffed. Because he didn’t mean that to say he _regretted_ those feelings. “You’re the best thing that happened to me in a _fucking_ long time.” Admitting that much was easy. When was the last time a woman had genuinely made him laugh like she did? When was the last time a woman had made him _this_ happy? When was the last time a woman had carved herself under his flesh ? When was the last time he had felt his heart beating so _fucking_ hard? “I went to _hell_ in a heartbeat for you, Effie. I ain’t good with the words. _Fuck_ , I don’t think I can even _ever_ say those words again. You know _why_. That’s not fair of you to decide I don’t feel _shit_ for you ‘cause I can’t _fucking_ express it when _you know_ why I can’t.”

Because everyone he had ever loved had died a bloody death.

Almost all of them at the hands of Snow.

“I went to hell for you…” he repeated slowly.

Her eyes were full of unshed tears that she was hastily blinking away.

She didn’t protest when he sat on the bed next to her though, his body flopping down on the mattress as if it was too heavy for him to stand any longer.

“It _scares_ me.” he confessed. “I can’t lose you and it scares me _shitless_.”

Her hand found his. He turned his palm so he could entwine their fingers.

She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t.” He shook his head. “I…”

“No, Haymitch…” She winced and he had the feeling he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say. “I love you. I _do_.”

He flinched. He couldn’t help it. And that probably didn’t do him any favor. “But?”

But he had missed his shot like _an idiot_ , he mused.

“ _But_ if we hadn’t been involved you would have staked Snow and we wouldn’t be in this situation.” she finished in a soft voice that she painfully tried to keep judgment free. “And President Coin is not wrong when she says that opening a hell portal and jumping through it when you did not know what was on the other side when Coriolanus Snow is free was a sentimental mistake.”

He scoffed. “Like you wouldn’t have done the same for me.”

He knew she would have.

He knew it in his guts.

“I would have.” she granted. “But I would not have taken the Slayer with me.”

He rolled his eyes. “You try stopping her when her boyfriend’s in danger, sweetheart. _You try_.”

“Did you even _try_ to convince her to stay behind?” she challenged.

He didn’t answer.

There was no answer to give.

She knew perfectly well he hadn’t because Katniss had been his best chance of getting them back. Both of them. Going alone would have been suicidal.

“I needed muscles. _I_ ’m not a powerful witch.” he retorted defensively.

“Neither am I anymore.” she pointed out wistfully. “And I am not quite sure _who_ I am without my magic…” She closed her eyes and licked her lips. “I think I am well enough to go back to my house now. And I am sure Peeta would be more comfortable in his own room. We imposed on your hospitality too much already.”

“ _Bullshit_.” he scoffed, a lump in his throat.

“I need some space.” she confessed more plainly.

“I know I _fucked_ up.” he insisted. “I know I _fucked_ _everything_ up. But, Effie…”

He was growing desperate and it probably showed because she squeezed his hand as hard as she could – which wasn’t really tight.

“I am not angry with you, darling.” she promised, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her glistening eyes. The pet name she usually tossed around in jest barely soothed him. “I just… It was _a lot._ For you, it was hours but for me…” She stopped talking to swallow hard and licked her lips again in a clear attempt at stopping the tears from falling. “It was a lot. And I feel so _weak_ …”

“You’re not weak.” he argued. “Cinna said…”

“Cinna cannot give me a timeframe because there is a chance my powers will never grow back and perhaps not to the levels they were at.” she cut him off. “I used to be content being a mediocre witch but I tasted true power and now…” She shook her head. “I need space. And we need to put boundaries in place anyway. Duty _has_ to come first.”

He thought that over and then made a face. “I’ve never been that guy. I always put my Slayers first.”

“I am not your Slayer.” she pointed out.

“No.” he snorted. “You’re the _one_ person I _can’t_ lose.”

And once Snow figured that out… Maybe she should go to England, after all. Accept her reassignment to whatever country they would send her to. Take the boy with her. Maybe, if he and Katniss survived this, he could go find her once everything would be over. Maybe…

“I need to be by myself for a bit.” she insisted. “In my own bed. In my own house.” She forced a smile. “But you will need to carry me there. And probably feed me too. I am not _banning_ you from my life.”

“Just from your bed.” he mocked bitterly.

She started to frown but caught herself and schooled her features into casualness. “Is _that_ what bothers you? That sex is off the table for a bit?”

“I’m bothered that _everything_ is off the table.” he countered. “Are you dumping my sorry ass?”

“No.” She shook her head and squeezed his hand again. “But I think we should take a break.”

He didn’t have enough experience with steady relationships to figure that one out by himself. “What does that mean?”

“That means we will be friends for a little while until we can figure out where we want to go from there.” she replied. “You need to decide what you want from me because I do not think I can do casual anymore.” She let go of his hand and cupped his cheek briefly. “It is not so different than what you proposed before the Reaping. If we survive this, we will see.”

And, if they didn’t, they would have _wasted_ what little time they had left.

But his scent wouldn’t linger on her anymore and there were less chances of Snow picking up that she was important with his vampire nose alone. 

It was the principle he had always lived by anyway, wasn’t it? Alone was safer. For him and for the poor woman that would end up dead because of him.

It didn’t matter if it hurt. It didn’t matter if it felt like a huge mistake. It didn’t matter if it felt like getting _gutted_ yet again.

“I’m… I’m gonna go tell the boy you’re going home.” he offered, before clearing his throat because his voice sounded too hoarse, too _raw_.

He stood up before he could do something stupid like kiss her senseless.

She had made her choice and he wanted to respect it.

She wouldn’t have begrudged him a kiss goodbye though…

But if he kissed her…

If he kissed her he would never stop.

She had that effect on him.

_Effie Trinket…_

The greatest _fucking_ temptation of his life…

**The end**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the episode! Who saw that break-up coming? Well, it's not a real break-up it's a break (do you hear Ross and Rachel scream in the distance? XD) They really need to start better communicating haha. 
> 
> I don't have a definite date for the next episode. I am currently working on it as I had a long stretch where I didn't manage to write much of anything, I won't lie. I feel much better now, Christmas one shots went a long way into pulling me back, and I'm making good progress on the next episode so there is that. I can tease you by saying it will be an au episode of sort... Think Anyanka if you know buffy... (might also be a good time to read TBOSAS if you intend to, as a character will appear, no spoilers but you know better safe than sorry) I am tentatively hoping that the next episode can maybe start in a month? Like let's say on January 10? But I can't say for sure right now since I haven't finished it yet. 
> 
> I will upload one shots for the Hayffie Advent Calender for the rest of the month on Sundays. Don't miss those!

**Author's Note:**

> Seems like Gale is back on the team whether we like it or not XD Peeta and Effie aren't doing great, Haymitch is on a fine line, Katniss is exhausted, Cinna needs a power nap... What could go wrong? Let me know your thoughts!


End file.
